We were hiking Hideout Hollow Falls a few weekends ago.  Fall hiking in Arkansas is very different from spring hiking.  In the spring, the waterfalls are full and flowing.  In the fall, the waterfalls are mostly dry; sometimes you find just a small trickle. Spring and fall hiking is all about your perspective of what the waterfalls have to offer.

The Hideout

We picked this waterfall so we could hike under the cliff and onto the dried waterbed.  We wanted to explore what was under it.  There are many of old tales about this hideout and we wanted to learn more about it.  No one seems to know who built it or during what timeframe it was used.  But there are remains of a dwelling that is tucked under the bluff. 

I tell this story because of the couple who was leaving the waterfall as we were arriving.  They said with disappointment in their voices, “it is just a dried-up waterfall bed.”

After our adventure and exploring, I realized people could have different thoughts about the area. We did miss the flowing water but loved our explorations.  We climbed down the rocks and boulders into the bed of the waterfall.  It was fun to explore the areas that we would not have been able to reach during the high waters in the spring.  We did find the hideout remains. Then we hiked around the hollow.

The Perspective

Instead of being disappointed, we were thrilled.   We liked the adventure and the opportunities for exploring that the lack of water allowed. 

Life perspective is all about your mindset or how you look at situations.  Do you only see dried up waterfall beds in life or do you see opportunities and possibilities that these situations offer?  How do you want to live your life?  Disappointed because of what was not there or delighted because of what you discovered instead?