Here at The Institute there is always a constant flow of activity where our many departments pursue their various objectives. In a high-tech environment like ours, with its pressure-cooker deadlines and high stress levels, our staff sometimes forgets to stop a moment and look around to see if all is right in the world.

That’s why early on, when The Institute was first being built, I saw the need to provide a place where one could go and just look. To stop, see, contemplate and become one with yourself again. So there, high up on the tallest spire that anchors a corner of the main hall, right where the south and west walls meet, the tower we call “Cloud Catcher” was constructed that overlooks the foothills of the mountains.  We built a small balcony that juts out through part of the conical roof where you can stand and look out over the land below as far as you want to. Many times you will look down on Redtail hawks and Golden Eagles soaring below. The stingingly cold west wind blowing through your hair and tugging at your clothes as you listen to the snapping sound of the pennants at the very peak above, make you feel alive as never before, and you can see once again if all is still right with the world.

This is particularly important during times of change when monumental decisions are being made and you have to be centered to make those hard choices. So it is mandatory that every member of our staff, especially those who makes important decisions, makes the trek up the 380 steps of the Cloud Catcher Spire and takes in the view from the Balcony of Serenity. I know, it’s a trite name but it makes sense after you’ve been up there a few times.

The image above is an early evening view to the South during the first few weeks of fall. We are still in the last of the monsoon season and there is high humidity in the air which forms mist and low-lying fog in the valleys below as the temperature changes. It is nearly impossible to observe this view for any length of time without your blood pressure coming down and calmness spreading through your mind. The relaxation is total. This is why we limit the visit to once a week and then for no more than 20 minutes at a time. You have to be able to descend those 380 steps.

I am presenting it here this Monday morning for any of you that are faced with hard decisions, stress, uncertainty, and strife in your life to look at and hopefully find some calmness for yourself. But remember only look at it for 20 minutes at a time. Any more than that and you could find yourself saying, to hell with it, I hear the living is easy in Fiji. Or Northern Colorado.