Solitude (the eleventh commandment), hiking up and down mountains in eastern France.
Carrying the weight of existence and an adequate water supply in my backpack.
When wide-open-space views open out through temporary clearings, they win me over and reassure me that sometimes the choices I make can be good ones.
The higher I go, the thicker the snow.
Up at the summit: no birds, no noise, a still landscape of silence and nothingness.
The perfect place to switch off and stare blankly into space.
I remain a bystander to nature.
An Outside World 