Heaven

Bottom of Kaatersill Falls
Near Palenville, NY

Heaven is a concept that I've never fully been able to grasp. Let's just say that I tend to define it by what it's not, at least for me. It can't be about money and things because each time I get either, the euphoria subsides rather quickly. There is nothing lasting about it.

Yet the days I spent outdoors walking along the Kaaterskill Creek and shooting Kaaterskill Falls seemed more like heaven to me than any other experience I have had in recent times. I found that I could not think about anything more than the flow of what was right in front of me. The roar of the abundant cascade drowned out all other distractions. I was in the presence of the almighty nature. Everything became distant and I was consumed by what was unfolding with each water surge.

Most of my life has been spent on thinking and planning about the future. However, in the presence of the waterfalls, it commanded my reverence and undivided attention; the deafening roar made me think only about now. As the falls consumed me, I discovered that for the moments spent in front of the cascading alter, I was in heaven. I was calm and without worry. Heaven for me, I realized is that place, where I think of nothing but right now and where I just am without cares and worries. To that extent, I can safely say that I found a piece of heaven in the Catskills. It's a place that I want to experience again and again.

If heaven is a destination you yearn to go to than I admit that I want to go to heaven. I believe I know its location now. The good news is that I don't have to wait a lifetime to experience it again.