Having ridden my mountain bike through Marin County's hills for years, I've watched the central shrine, Mt. Tamalpais, go through thousands of changes.

Depending on the weather, the season, and the time of day, it has been a different event on each occasion I've seen it.

When the low-slung sun illuminates the thin layer of mist covering it late on a winter afternoon, it's not the same mountain that lies beneath a full moon beaming down on it through a hole in the streaming clouds on a summer night.

The realist in me says I'd be justified in giving it a new name each time I'm in its presence.

If you're honest, you know that my relationship with Mt. Tamalpais is very much like your experience of the people you see every day.

They're always fresh, always different from who they were last time.

Maybe it's time to acknowledge and celebrate that mystery.