Delicacies of Tahoe

And our dance with the mountain

The emotional ingredients of sights, sounds and textures, if bottled, could give the Chicago-based restaurant Alinea a run for its money.

You're bombarded with sensory overload from the back alleys of Truckee, to the mesmerizing skyscapes of Lake Tahoe.

"To see a World in a Grain of Sand

And a Heaven in a Wild Flower 

Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand 

And Eternity in an hour..." ~ William Blake

Spend enough time here being astonished, and magical, life-transforming things happen eventually.

The enchantment follows you.

And if you're lucky enough to pay attention you may even get a celestial toast from a Cosmic Chalice.

What's Your Private Mountain?

Who doesn't want to bask in the alpenglow of the private mountain they were put on this planet to climb?

Such sights in Tahoe are a seduction of the mind.

The mountains here don't just "call," they entice us to give it a go...

... to start that project, to lick that bad habit, to overcome our fears... to begin climbing our own private mountain.

And if we fail to make it to the top, or even to the tree line, we can at least say we gave it a go.

Afterall, half the battle is acknowledging to ourselves we have our own private mountain to begin with.

It's up to us to take that first step to dealing with it. To conquering it.

"Lots of people," as the writer and artist Austin Kleon puts it, "want to be the noun without doing the verb." We may want to climb our private mountain, but what's required is must. As in, I must climb this mountain. I must put in the work, the effort.

The important thing is to not just stare at it.

Zig Ziglar said it best when he said, "Don't stare up the steps, step up the stairs!"

These are your steps. This is your mountain. Your dream. Your noun and verb. And it's your measure of success.

And if you should pass under a Juniper Tree along the way, and you want a master class in inspiration, there's no greater natural resource.

Surviving in the harshest conditions, and thriving in areas with gale force winds and little water, the Juniper Tree is the ultimate example of resiliency, strength, and endurance.

"It is," says Walt Whitman describing the heroic nature of a tree, "yet says nothing. How it rebukes by its tough and equable serenity all weathers, this gusty temper'd little whiffet, man, that runs indoors at a mite of rain or snow."

Like wise old counselors, the Juniper Trees, with their heavy bent and twisted branches, make you feel safe and confident you're on the right path, wherever your path may lead.

Success to others may appear to be reaching the summit, or doing the Rocky dance at the top of the stairs. In the end, however, if it looks right to the world, but feels wrong to you, it's not a victory dance worth having, is it?

Acknowledge your mountain. Start climbing. Enjoy your private victories.

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I’m Michael Kennedy, Olympic Valley, CA resident, married to Nicola Kennedy (in photo above). I’m a writer, photographer and property caretaker. I just want to say thanks for your attention - I appreciate it in such a noisy world. If you enjoyed it, please share with others.

It means a lot to me and it helps others see the story.

If you're interested in owning any photos in my gallery: click here, call or text me with any inquiries at 530.608.9150. My email: michael.kennedy999@gmail.com.