level 6: miracle

I've just entered the sixth level of the waterfall, climbing by the dry route because the waterfall cascade way still seems impossible. I'll have to wait for those boulders to move again before climbing that way. Once more, there's this dry alternative just to the side: a rather technical little piece of rock climbing, bridging between an overhanging slab and a sloping rock; half bridging, half chimneying; then padding up a sloping slab – a nice little move, if awkward at times.

And here, looking up at the sixth level, it's very beautiful. The valley is quite steep here: a big jumble of rocks, and the water itself is also spread out across the width of the jumbled valley floor. So there are cascades everywhere; green, mossy patches. And I see a few little fern like plants, in some of the shady places under rocks, as well.

The boulders here are a real delight to scramble up, always close to the water. It's a very alive place: the vitality of this mountain stream is felt very strongly here.

I'm halfway up level six now. And I've just paused next to an amazing plant. It's a rhododendron tree, only it's stunted: it's a little shrub. It's growing horizontally out from between some boulders. I'm surprised even it's found enough soil to get rooted there. And it pokes out about a metre. And the way I climb up here comes right past it. I have to hold onto it as I scramble up one of the rocks.

But I called this episode miracle because of this little tree. I'm really amazed that it's managed to grow here. I would never have expected it. As I mentioned, there are a few mosses and little fern like plants, but not much else growing on the valley floor. These large boulders, shifting from time to time, really must make it very difficult for anything like a shrub or a tree to survive for long. But this one has. It's been here for all the years I've been coming up the valley here. It's never grown any bigger in all that time. But it looks happy enough. And for me, it is a miracle.

And somehow, miracles are a part of this spiritual journey. Not necessarily believing in miracles that other people have told you about. For me, it's more a case of being open to see miracles, to witness miracles, when one is in front of my eyes – like this little rhododendron tree, growing in such an unlikely place. So being open to the miraculous is, for me, also an important part of the spiritual journey.

We can easily go through life living in our rational mind, that says nothing is mysterious, there's no such thing as a miracle. But the further I go on the spiritual journey, the more I realise everything is mysterious, and everything is a miracle. Certainly life – life itself – it's a miracle. And this, most unlikely little rhododendron tree, is reminding me of that, of the miracle that is life.

I've reached the top of the sixth level of the waterfall now. Emerging at the top of the steep section of jumbled boulders, suddenly one comes to another large pool, beautiful for bathing in on a sunny day. And this is the entrance to the seventh level.

Looking back down the sixth level, it's very beautiful. By now we're far from any sign of human beings, human life. It's very raw nature here: steep valley sides, a lot of rock, bare rock; trees still clinging to the valley sides here and there; and grassy slopes in amongst the rocky mountainside; the valley floor, just a big pile of boulders with, here and there, the remains of some tree trunks that have been brought down the valley.