What Causes the Universe to Spin?

What Causes the Universe to Spin?

On this day 38 years ago
near giant sequoias and sugar pine trees
northwest of the Stanislaus river flowing freely,
between Lake Tahoe and Yosemite
on the West facing slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain range
in Calaveras County, in Northern California
sat a small foot bridge

And on this foot bridge walked a woman
born near the Cuyahoga River in Ohio,
with its red cardinals in flight, endlessly long backyards,
and its glowing foliage in the fall

Also on that bridge on this day was a man,
born in Los Angeles,
having lived and surfed the waters
all along the California coast -
with its golden sunlight, its deserts, coastal redwoods
And the blue expanse of the Pacific Ocean,
ancient in its conversation
between the land and sea

Those two human creatures,
scared and excited on that bridge, 
along with a dog named Pokey
walked through a landscape that was 
uncharted to them both

With trust between them
and a willingness to explore
the depths of human connection
they spoke vows with trees, humans, and a dog
as witnesses that day

I am a recipient of the gifts 
they’ve learned and received along their journey
through this uncharted territory of marriage,
with its high mountain peaks, expansive in sight,
and its dark forests of confusion and frustration

And I am grateful to them them both
for their journey, and to the landscapes 
that I have inherited through them

What adults or other individuals have shaped you? Who are they? What did they offer that was so impactful? Do you have a story of a significant day that is deeply connected to a landscape of a place? Please share your story in the comment section below, or tell me about them with any added photos in a message at wes@livethecuriouslife.com