How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains!

“How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains!”
Thus wrote John Muir, the wanderer of the wilderness, the prophet of the forests and the high places. In these few radiant words, he captured the eternal dialogue between light and the earth, between the soul of man and the soul of creation. This was no idle phrase of admiration, but a cry of reverence — the reverence of one who had walked alone among the peaks and heard the silent hymns of nature. When Muir spoke of the sun greeting the mountains, he spoke of the meeting of heaven and earth, of the dawn that awakens both the world and the spirit within man.

Muir had spent countless dawns in the Sierra Nevada, waking beneath the open sky with the cold granite beneath him and the firmament blazing above. He saw how the first rays of sunlight touched the peaks — soft at first, like a whisper of gold, then bursting forth in majesty. To him, this was more than a scene of beauty; it was a sacred moment, a reminder that the world renews itself each day in light. He saw in that glowing exchange the symbol of divine generosity — the sun, tireless and pure, offering life and warmth even to the coldest stone. And the mountains, steadfast and silent, rising in answer to that gift, reflecting it in splendor. Such, he believed, was the pattern of all creation: the glory of giving and receiving between spirit and world.

The meaning of this quote, then, is not merely about the loveliness of dawn. It is about awareness — the ability to perceive the sacred in the ordinary. Most men sleep while the sun crowns the mountains; Muir was awake, body and soul. To him, each sunrise was a reminder that life itself greets us anew with every morning, that every day is a chance to rise from shadow into light. The mountains do not ask for this gift; they simply stand as they are, strong and true — and in their stillness, they are transformed by the light. So too must man learn to stand in truth and receive the day’s first grace.

There is in this image also the lesson of gratitude and wonder. The modern heart, burdened by haste, forgets to look up. Yet the world still speaks, as it spoke to Muir — in wind and water, in rock and sky. When he wrote these words, he was not trying to paint a picture; he was inviting the soul to remember its kinship with the universe. The sun that greets the mountains also greets us. The light that gilds the granite also calls forth our courage. To behold such beauty is to be reminded that we, too, are part of the grand harmony of being.

Think of Helen Keller, who though blind and deaf, once described the warmth of sunlight upon her face as “God’s kiss.” She could not see the mountains, nor hear the dawn, yet she felt the same glory that Muir saw. Her spirit, like his, recognized that even in darkness there is light waiting to be received. Her life, built on gratitude and perseverance, was itself a sunrise — proof that the divine greeting of life is not limited to sight, but to the heart’s awakening. The mountains may be of stone, but man’s soul is living rock — capable of shining with equal splendor when touched by the light of truth.

From Muir’s vision we learn that to live well is to stay awake to wonder. The sun still rises, and the mountains still glow, but the eyes of the spirit must be open to behold them. The world does not grow less beautiful; it is we who grow less attentive. Let each morning be for us a new beginning, a chance to greet life as the mountains greet the sun — with dignity, openness, and joy. Step outside, if only for a moment, and feel the air on your face. Look upon the sky as though you had never seen it before. In that moment, you are living as Muir lived — heart aligned with the rhythm of creation.

So, my child of earth, remember this truth: to greet the day with wonder is to live in harmony with the universe. Do not rush through the dawns of your life; meet them. Watch the world awaken, and let your soul awaken with it. The same sunlight that kisses the peaks also burns in you — the light of courage, of gratitude, of hope. Let it rise. Let it greet your mountains — your challenges, your dreams, your doubts — and transform them into glory. For the universe is forever giving, and those who stand open-hearted, like the mountains, will forever be blessed by the glorious greeting of the sun.