Fear is an obstacle.  To overcome this obstacle, you have to realize that fear is also an illusion.

I came to test my fear of heights when I approached Taft Point in Yosemite National Park.  The landing after the one mile hike into Taft Point, I was greeted with the sprawling beauty that oversees the Yosemite Valley and El Capitan.

As I approached the famous fissure, I had to hesitate as my fear of heights pounded in my heart and in my mind. I made the mistake of looking down and the feeling of vertigo and fear it me, but then I looked up at El Capitan looming, and was instantly humbled and strengthened by surrounding beauty. It was then when my fear immediately dissipated.

For those who have not been to Yosemite, this is must-stop during a visit to California.

In fact, do yourself a favor and visit all national parks.

Ken Burns eloquently advised to the graduating class during his Stanford commencement speech, “Visit National Parks, the sheer majesty may remind you of your own “atomic insignificance”, but in the inscrutable ways of Nature, you will feel, larger, inspirited, just as the egotist in our midst is diminished by his or her self-regard”.