The Samurai Guy

There is no experience that could have prepared me for my first sight of the Grand Canyon. Even our most sacred Mt. Fuji seems an improper comparison. While Mt. Fuji feels otherworldly and transcendant, this Grand Canyon is earthly, awe-inspiring, and defies all words. Surely, only the hands of the Gods could create such a thing. The park rangers tell me it was done by thousands of years of erosion by the Colorado River, but surely even water cannot do this. Mightier hands guided this creation.

No pictures I share with you will ever capture this experience. They will fail to express to you just how big, vast, and deep these canyons run. Huge evergreen trees look like dotted ants against this landscape. The scene is awash in red, rust, copper, and earth tones. I am humbled by these deep canyons.

I sat for hours in meditation atop one of the cliffs. In the distance I heard bald eagles and peregrine falcons on the hunt, echoing off the canyon walls. The wind whispered through the canyons and the trees gently swayed in the breeze. My breathing slowed rhythmically and deeply and I found myself traveling to Sensei. This was the first time this had happened unbidden. Sensei and I spoke about what I have seen on my journey and he assured me that things were going well. While it has been an incredible journey so far, I failed to see the purpose. Sensei said I had to stop resisting and open my mind to everything that was happening to me on this journey. The truth would slowly reveal itself to me. I suppose all I can do is put my faith in Sensei and trust it will work out.