It was a beautiful day for a hike: mid-forties, partly sunny, a gentle breeze, and a leisurely, restful Sunday. I left the house without a walking stick, not really focused on a direction, a style, or a plan. I had no expectations, I just wanted to walk, Forrest Gump-style.
Almost immediately, nature provided a perfect walking stick. I almost gave it a toss away from the path and into the woods, but there was something potential and maybe preemptively advantageous about keeping it. So I adopted it and we went a walking.
Get a load of those pink gloves. So NOT ME!
My open mind at the outset of today’s walk served to unleash some stuff from within; deep within. When I was a teenager, in the throes of developing what would become a deeply philosophical/spiritual soul, there was a saying: “If you love something set it free…if it was meant for you it will come back to you.”
I’m sort of in love with Autumn and with some reluctance, I’m having to release those beautiful but oh so temporary yellow, orange, red, and brown leaves to the wind in the hope and expectation of new ones arriving next year. But at the same time, I marvel at the utter permanence of the boulders along my path, many of them moss strewn, which will remain the same from season to season and year to year.
The juxtaposition of temporary, fleeting, & releasing against permanent, solid, & grounded made life feel awesome for this moment in time. Then, to conclude my walk, I felt my place in life when I came across a winding, curved, but solid and purposeful tree root and a mushroom/fungus, utterly attached to a tree root, looking so unmoved as to be a permanent part of that tree’s root system.
I find nature’s curves appealing. I’m not one for linear thinking nor is my body unfamiliar with curves. We’ve all heard of the curve-ball. But many of us don’t expect to encounter them in our lives. The wise among us have learned to accept the curves and even treasure the gifts they eventually bestow.
I finished my walk singing and walk/jogging, and I’ll finish these thoughts with, some lyrics from What a Feeling from Flashdance:
“First when there’s nothing But a slow glowing dream That your fear seems to hide Deep inside your mind All alone I have cried Silent tears full of pride In a world made of steel Made of stone Well, I hear the music Close my eyes, feel the rhythm Wrap around Take a hold of my heart What a feeling… You can dance right through your life…”