We don’t think about it all that much, but here in East Cobb we currently live over 1000 feet above sea level. When I was growing up in Philadelphia, I was living 39 feet above sea level.
Is Mountain air good for the soul? Is that why everyone here looks so much younger than everyone else in the northeast?
I have no idea. But I do know that mountains have always held a very spiritual place in Jewish and religious tradition. Lots of great things in the Torah come from the mountains. The Torah was given on Mount Sinai. Deborah and Barak defeated King Jabin and the Canaanites on Mount Tabor. In the Book of Psalms, we read “I lift my eyes to the mountains, and where shall my help come from? My help comes from God, the maker of heaven and earth.”
It’s true that God splits the Red Sea, but that is pretty much the extent to which the beaches make any “great waves” in Jewish tradition (groan).
But the mountains? We live in God’s country. The air is cleaner. The hiking is great. Maybe that’s why we have Mount Tabor in Dallas, Georgia (admittedly, no Sinai).
The world may be a little flatter by the beach. But we live a little closer to the heavens.
