The hidden mountain

1ST DAY (AN ENCOUNTER WITH…)

Saahsal* on the mountain 

*(a rock band)

Night had already begun to fall upon the towering mountain ranges of Switzerland, transforming them into an immensely imposing and somber mass. The brightly-lit villages nestling on the mountainsides and the town at their feet shone like fiery red lava flows.

The journey seemed to go on for ever, with our old bus (which I fear is not long for this world) hauling behind it a trailer filled with anti-blues bombs (some people also call it music and sound equipment). Our tortuous ascent takes us up narrow roads and hairpin bends. I drink in the deliciously unreal beauty of the countryside. It feels like I’m in a fantasy film. This evening we have a death-defying mission in a bar: 

Turn up those decibels!

2ND DAY (LIVING WITH…)

The invisible world

The next day, I was walking by myself in this fascinating upland forest in search of some peace and quiet and the chance to talk to God. All around me is foggy, just like my brain after last night’s concert 

Supposedly, behind this thick veil of fog looms the majestic Alps, masters of all they survey, their streams bringing life-giving water that sustains EVERYTHING that lives... 

But today, I can’t see a THING!

Behind our thick veil of disbelief down here, 

You are also present...

Oh! Lord, I can’t wait to see you as you really are....

The forest-dweller

I have the sensation that I’m being watched... (I get the same feeling when I’m on stage) Oh! Just in front of me, stock-still and squatting upon two legs, a squirrel is looking at me, weighing me up. I know the slightest sudden movement will break the spell.

Sometimes we liken the Creator’s intelligence to that of an incredibly powerful computer (not running on Windows, OK!!!). This image is doubly misleading because God is so much more powerful than that, and, above all, a computer operates according to an unbending, cold set of rules... whereas God is sensitive, just like this squi... Oops! Where did he go?!

The onset of night is already dissipating the last glimmers of daylight, the spotlights on the stage at the fashionable club where we’re about to play take over. The squirrel seems to have followed me – how strange...

3RD DAY (FACE TO FACE WITH…)

Time for the long journey home

The next day, we load up our rickety means of transport (including our mementoes). We set off, waving our last goodbyes to all those who made us so welcome...and at this exact moment, the mountain decides to show itself to us in all its splendor...

Gasps of admiration break out! This WONDROUS BEAUTY was there, so close by, but up to then, we hadn’t seen it!!! The last wisps of clouds disappear from the summits, their smoky, vaporous quality almost making you think the mountain was boiling hot.

I arrived back home. I know that my Creator is already here, like a gigantic, invisible mountain...

Maybe, without any forewarning... 

I will see Him.