It Will Forever Change You

When I was visiting over at Dig this Chick the other day, she posted this picture that absolute drew the breath out of me:

I never knew that snowflakes like this really existed. Sure, I've seen pictures but I never really knew if they were real. Seeing as how Dig this Chick lives in Missoula, MT and so did my little brother for a spell, I decided to ask him about it. Montana holds a very dear and near place in my heart as I'm sure that is where my brother was born for the second time and taught him a way to live life as a harmonious symphony between body and nature. Here is what he had to say about the snowflakes and his first love, Sweet Montana.

"That is the case for all snowflakes, MT or not. No two flakes are the same and are impossible to replicate. Now does the snow in MT hold a special place in my heart, certainly. They fall like goose feathers and can get so big you can feel the weight of them on your face. There were many a night that I'd be stumbling home from Charlie's and stop and try to soak up the winter night in that sketchy alley, or in Alberton and listen as you can damn near here them falling through the sky. It isn't just the hikes and the views and the crazy times I had that I miss most because although those are burned in my memory and I could go back and they could be replicated. It is the sounds, smells and the spiritual grapple of the place as a whole that can bring me to my knees. There is a Celtic Tale of 'Thin Places' that explains this feeling that I have a little better.

A 'Thin Place' is an extraordinary place, most often found in the wild, where it is as though the line between the physical and spiritual worlds is so thin that it seems that they are one. You could never find these places should you seek them however you can find yourself if you are there, and it is an almost erie feeling when you have stumbled, hiked or wandered into them. You know it, something is happening all around you, almost like you are being watched by millions but there is no one there.

I miss Montana, I miss my mind."

I'm posting this especially for my children. Please go find this place and never forget it. Remember it always and it will forever change you.