In this collection of essays, the author considers the beauty of the natural world in all its forms through pieces spanning time, geography, stages of life, and states of mind. From swimming a spring-fed pond to climbing a stormy Grand Teton, fly-fishing the mythic land of Yellowstone to cycling a suddenly different lakeside, he explores the lay of the land and its connection with our capacity to experience wonder.

How do the subjective hazards or emotional longings of our internal landscape govern our ability to open ourselves to not just the material or spiritual worlds, but to all the connections within the elements of them? Just how much are we aware of, how much do we see , even when we think we are fully present in the here and now? Are we even capable of fully knowing the many layers of the worlds we move through? Or are we destined to dwell in vision limited by our reluctance to open ourselves?

In the answers to these questions there is much more than meets both the eye and the I .

There’s something happening here much bigger than ourselves, even glimpses of which can lead, if we let them, to episodes of joyful surprise, serene awe, and the grace of peacefully living in our right place in the world. The path to knowing that place is different for each of us but always begins with understanding that what we do to the earth we do to ourselves, and the learning we acquire during that journey allows us to approach what it truly means to be free.