A late afternoon appointment yesterday took me to an area of town I used to frequent. As I passed the large lake with the walking trails I used to enjoy, I remembered the sneakers I keep in my trunk and decided that my Wednesday evening walk would be one down memory lane.
My trek around the lake was lovely and peaceful, and many of the markers I’d seen many times before struck me differently this time.
The matted goose “matter” I had to navigate along one tiny stretch of the otherwise pristine path was a reminder that sometimes we have to navigate around or through life’s muck and keep going, with our purposeful goal in mind.
The sign asking walkers to use an underground tunnel, rather than cross the busy street to get from one side to the other, served as a metaphor for us sometimes needing to take the less-glitzy path to reach our destiny in a safe and timely manner.
The Environmental Protection Area sign? A nod to remember that rules of conduct matter. What if we set boundaries around our hopes and dreams and hearts that allowed others to connect with us, yet only in enriching ways?
And then there were the lake, the small bridges and the path itself. All organic reminders of the Creator’s talent and majesty, and of our privilege to experience it – with the only cost being to help preserve it.
What a walk. On a familiar path, yet enjoyed with child-like wonder.
Wherever your To Do List or path leads you today, consider experiencing some of it in silence, so you can fully see and hear what being present in those moments reveals to you.
My mile-long adventure yielded gratitude that will linger.
Still Unfolding with Stacy Hawkins Adams 