Before the feasting and gift-giving were to begin, our holiday plans this year included a Christmas Eve hike.

At this writing we were still debating whether that walk through the woods would be on the Tennessee Valley Authority Muscle Shoals Reservation, Cane Creek Nature Preserve or Sipsey Wilderness.

Regardless of the choice, all those options offer a metaphor for living a fuller life in 2012.

A person can drive past the tree-covered landscape and believe he or she has seen all there is to see. But a drive through the forest does not reveal the depths of the beauty contained within.

To fully appreciate the natural world in north Alabama, a person — or in our case, a family — must stop the car, get out and hike down deep into the canyons.

Here, the carpet of moss feels soft to the touch. The sounds of falling water insulate the ears from mechanical intrusions. The piney scent of a regenerating forest refreshes the lungs. The greenery of mountain laurel and the gray-hued flakes of lichen-covered boulders delight the eyes.

But descending into a rocky canyon is difficult. It involves certain risks. It demands personal effort, trusting steps and physical exertion.

Life, itself, is much the same.

We walk past people every day and regard them as nothing more than the forest scenery, just part of our peripheral vision.

Often we don’t stop and look deeper, we don’t get beyond the casual conversation to discover who people really are as individuals. A deeper relationship requires a certain amount of risk. It demands personal effort, trusting steps and emotional exertion.

Making a new friend might require putting aside the labels that often divide us and listening to the opinions of someone else. Some of us pull for Auburn, some for Alabama and some for Tennessee. Some drive Chevy trucks and others are loyal to Fords. Some are black and some are white. Some are Christians and some are Jews. Some are liberal, some moderate, some conservative.

The complexities of most people, however, defy any definition we might form as a passer-by.

The challenge is to grow beyond the point of judging everyone from our very limited experience in place, time and culture.

Walking through a canyon on Christmas Eve is easy compared to developing new and deeper relationships.

But the rewards for either endeavor are worth the time and effort.

So, in the coming year, I plan to stop the car, get out and start hiking.

Executive Editor Scott Morris can be reached at 256-740-5721 or scott.morris@timesdaily.com