State of Mind

There's the difficult way and there's the really difficult way. The Black Crest Trail is the latter--but it's the most rewarding. Culminating on the highest peak on the Eastern Sea Board, the Black Crest Trail (aka, "Death March") clambers over five peaks. That is, if one approaches from the North. We passed many hikers going the opposite direction--downhill. But for every "down" there's an "up." Scaling the first 3000 feet in the first three miles, we passed this unforgettable tree.

I was caused to remember this tree when reading my dailies: "Your mind will take the shape of what you frequently holds in thought, for the human spirit is colored by such impressions." (Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 5.16)

On the trail I could not pass this tree as quickly and easily as the previous million. What forces shaped this tree? How long has it endured? One can only imagine. The truth is that the tree remains shaped, forked, bent. It will never be the same as when it first began to grow.

What do you hold in your mind? Anger? Hatred? Fear? Immorality? Impure thoughts? Evil desires?
And how is you spirit colored by these impressions? How far have you comes since you began?
How are you shaping up?

"Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth." (Colossians 3:2)

" . . . be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God . . ." (Ephesians 4:23-24)