A glimpse of the marvelous
A man is climbing up Tram Face above Olympic Valley, and as he passes through the shrub line he suddenly slips and begins sliding down the vertical slabs of granite.
Fortunately, there’s a root of a Juniper tree twisting in and out of the rock which he manages to grab, and he hangs on to it for dear life.
But now he’s dangling about a thousand feet over the village with no way to save himself.
He screams, “Is there anybody up there who can help me?”
A booming James Earl Jones-like voice comes from above. “It’s me, your Lord. I will help you, but you must do exactly as I say.”
The man is overcome with a wave of relief. “Of course! I’ll do anything! Please tell me what to do!”
The voice says, “Just let go of the root, my child, and trust.”
There’s a long pause.
Then the man shouts, “Is there anybody ELSE up there?”
The French expression, “Sacré bleu” is used to convey surprise, shock, or amazement. It translates to “holy blue” and is derived from the phrase “sacré Dieu”, which means “holy God”. Lake Tahoe is known as Big Blue, a sacred place, a place of bewilderment. It could easily be called “Sacré bleu”.
While you may not hear the voice of James Earl Jones coming from above, you will most definitely feel a sense of enchantment during a hike or a walk in Tahoe.
One English expression for this feeling is aesthetic chills.
Aesthetic chills can be described as "an emotional drift in valence and arousal." The stuff that gives you goosebumps. It’s the feeling you get when experiencing music, reading poetry, hearing inspiring words or enjoying a walk in nature and other such things that make your skin tingle with excitement.
The following photos and quotes are glimpses of the marvelous - aesthetic chills I've experienced in Tahoe in the recent past.
As the new year approaches and we make plans to diet, exercise and develop better habits, it can't hurt to include the search for more aesthetic chills.
If we're lucky, the awe may find us, just as the Cosmic Chalice snuck up on Nicola and me one chilly morning.
The goal isn't to look for the experience or quote that inspires, it's to be in that state of mind which makes inspiration inevitable. When we have an inspired world view, the aesthetic chills find us. With an inspired mindset you invite the clean energy in.
To the things that make you go, "WOW!" in 2025.
“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back
and realize they were the big things.” ~ Robert Brault
“Look for the goodness and it becomes obvious. Where you don’t see it, create it. Where you do see it, celebrate it. Stand in awe of it. You would be crazy not to see it, and if you ever can’t see it — look closer.” ~ Elizabeth Gilbert
“Look deep into nature, and then you will start
to understand everything better.” ~ Albert Einstein
“This day will never come again… the sun will never shine as it does today.”
~ excerpt from Klingsor’s Last Summer, by Hermann Hesse
"Life moves on, whether we act as cowards or heroes...
Every moment is a golden one for him
who has the vision to recognize it as such." ~ Henry Miller
"Give every day a chance
to become the most beautiful day of your life." ~ Mark Twain
“Somewhere something incredible is waiting to be known.” ~ Carl Sagan
“There was always a million sparkles on the water... like that mountain Lake. It was so clear, Jenny, it looked like there were two skies one on top of the other.” ~ Forrest Gump
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I’m Michael Kennedy, Olympic Valley, CA resident, married to Nicola Kennedy (in photo above). I’m a writer, photographer, lover of nature, 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, call or text me at 530.608.9150 with inquiries. My email: michael.kennedy999@gmail.com.