Walking out of Difficulty

Anyone up for a walk?
I'm forever intrigued and reassured by the multi-dimensional nature of experience. Mixed with suffering, there always seems to be compensation; sometimes great joy, at least for me.

When I reached the hardest stretch on my journey several years ago, and realized immediately that it would take a long time to absorb this reality, I found myself miraculously situated in a new home in my bustling, burgeoning city next to 77 miles of trail through wilderness. A canal and creek snake through the whole town and provide a place for biking, jogging, and walking, entirely removed from the city commotion, treasured by the local populace, and even kept relatively free of dog excrement. A remarkable feat.

I purchased a comfortable pair of little black walking shoes and spent the first year next to the canal, pondering, remembering, breathing, and moving in a steady rhythm, until I found myself slowly establishing balance and evolving. I especially liked the ducks who make the sweetest funniest sounds I know of. They enjoy themselves, and I see them swimming together and apart. Some ducks mate for life, I think, some travel solo, at least some of the time. They were good company.

It all appears fair to me. Whatever comes my way is a perfect blend of easy and hard, bad and good, all manageable so far, and all educational, molding my character in surprising ways. There's always a gate. Always a portal. Always a road out. And always one in, of course. I'm glad I'm free and ambulatory.
Photo: Neil Campbell-Sharp