I was hungry. I had other places to be. I was in thoughtful mode. It was midday, and I was walking one of my favorite local trails in Cockaponsett, alone with my thoughtful thoughts. New Year’s Day came (yesterday) and I hadn’t any time at all to think on paper and write, between working at a new restaurant after four hours of sleep, then racing off to visit with my sister & family on Long Island afterwards (a 3 hour trip each way). And of all things, I REALLY like to write.
Today, walking this fabulous blue-blazed trail without a companion, I reflected on its allegory for a journey through life. In view of my goal to be more successful creatively every year – and desire to make this a banner year – the comparison made sense because this is a trail that I’ve often walked halfway, then turned back because of time constraints or fear, like the fear of darkness falling. Today was different because I started earlier and I generally tend to walk at day’s end; in winter, I’m usually racing against sundown. Hmm, that’s a pretty nice metaphor, too. Nature offers so many wise symbols – in a beautiful, unspoiled way. It’s such a treat to walk – and to be able to: in 2011, I had injured my hip and then my other knee, so I had a taste of disability and felt grateful to be back in good health, walking pain-free.
I don’t do resolutions; I make aspirations. On the woodsy winter trail, I aspired to keep to my path in life – to continue whether it’s rocky, slippery, soggy, or covered with leaves. Whether a brook or a fallen tree gets in the way; whether the trail goes uphill or downhill; whether the trail gets hard to follow because the path marks aren’t visible: I must keep to the path, knowing it’s exactly right. I keep to the path because there’s a goal in sight, just when I’m ready to turn back and give up.
So today, I was following the blue blazes on foot for 45 minutes, getting worried, getting hungrier. I kept praying – with an “open dialogue” in my mind to the creator – marveling over how great a metaphor for success walking a path I’d never walked to the end. Maybe before today the path wasn’t marked well enough to see the blue blazes and follow. . . But today, that changed. I found the blazes – when I couldn’t, I used intuition and was patient – and I followed the path with that calm and peaceful color, blue, to the end: the reservoir.
Seeing that water sparkling in the sun gave me renewed energy and faith in the path back home. So, yes, I’m on the path of success, whatever that means to me. . . and the fun of figuring that out is the key.
I also aspire to blog daily – not a lot, just a long paragraph or two. I hope this is the longest entry because really, it’s a daunting project to keep publishing online (especially if you’re a private person, like me), but I feel compelled, so I shall. . . so follow me, if you please!
PS – it was a very nice 90 minute walk, indeed – and my belated lunch tasted wonderful.
beautiful!
ReplyDelete