After walking 19 days, I've gotten my trail legs and am making better time. It is always important for me to watch how fast I'm walking, how long of a stride I'm taking, and if my posture is correct, but I'm not thinking sooo much about it now. I'm now thinking about more important things, like about the trails themselves, even rating them each day. Let me break them down for you.
Lowest on Linda's trail rating is the paved road. It is hard, unforgiving, and usually involves rogue cars at just the moment you glance down to make sure you don't twist an ankle on a manhole cover. The only time I choose the road is when the sidewalk is concrete, which is even worse than asphalt and really no safer than the road. Next up the list is large gravel and/or small boulder roads. Just when you think you have found a relatively safe way to tiptoe through this obstacle course, this type of road throws a bunch of new boulders in your path and you are forced to unceremoniously horn in on your walking partner's path, perhaps using poles to help make your point, kinda like a NASCAR race manuever. Finally we have the hard dirt path. Top of the list, made sweeter only by the presence of well trodden grass to provide cushion. Walk all over this stuff, glance around with ease, and share the space generously as if you really are that kind of pilgrim. Unfortunately you can throw this list out the window if it rains. That hard dirt becomes thick mud that will suck your boots off.
Now that we have the trails scientifically rated, let's talk about where they lead. HA! totally impossible. In fact I now play a game (silently) with my husband on this subject. He says he sees a road leading to a village just up ahead that is where we are probably going, and I bet (silently) that it's probably twice as far and is rather a village two hours beyond our view. I usually win. My point to this is that we just can't know on this pilgrimage which way the path will turn. We think we know, hope it will be downhill and on a perfectly smooth trail, but life throws curves, boulders, and even cars at us sometimes. I have come to the conclusion that we are better off just being happy with making progress, putting one foot in front of the other, and keeping our thoughts on the good stuff. Faith, family, the ability to walk at all, those things seem to make it easier no matter the type of path we are facing. Whether you have ever hiked a day in your life or not, you get this. We have all been going one direction when all of sudden we each find ourselves saying, "How did I get HERE?" "Where do I go next?" If you are at that point in life, try it. Put one foot in front of the other. Think on the good stuff, and may I suggest you find faith? If you seek it, you will find it. But you must seek it with all your heart. Start asking Him to show Himself. Be a pilgrim wherever you are, whatever the path. Buen Camino!
Lowest on Linda's trail rating is the paved road. It is hard, unforgiving, and usually involves rogue cars at just the moment you glance down to make sure you don't twist an ankle on a manhole cover. The only time I choose the road is when the sidewalk is concrete, which is even worse than asphalt and really no safer than the road. Next up the list is large gravel and/or small boulder roads. Just when you think you have found a relatively safe way to tiptoe through this obstacle course, this type of road throws a bunch of new boulders in your path and you are forced to unceremoniously horn in on your walking partner's path, perhaps using poles to help make your point, kinda like a NASCAR race manuever. Finally we have the hard dirt path. Top of the list, made sweeter only by the presence of well trodden grass to provide cushion. Walk all over this stuff, glance around with ease, and share the space generously as if you really are that kind of pilgrim. Unfortunately you can throw this list out the window if it rains. That hard dirt becomes thick mud that will suck your boots off.
Now that we have the trails scientifically rated, let's talk about where they lead. HA! totally impossible. In fact I now play a game (silently) with my husband on this subject. He says he sees a road leading to a village just up ahead that is where we are probably going, and I bet (silently) that it's probably twice as far and is rather a village two hours beyond our view. I usually win. My point to this is that we just can't know on this pilgrimage which way the path will turn. We think we know, hope it will be downhill and on a perfectly smooth trail, but life throws curves, boulders, and even cars at us sometimes. I have come to the conclusion that we are better off just being happy with making progress, putting one foot in front of the other, and keeping our thoughts on the good stuff. Faith, family, the ability to walk at all, those things seem to make it easier no matter the type of path we are facing. Whether you have ever hiked a day in your life or not, you get this. We have all been going one direction when all of sudden we each find ourselves saying, "How did I get HERE?" "Where do I go next?" If you are at that point in life, try it. Put one foot in front of the other. Think on the good stuff, and may I suggest you find faith? If you seek it, you will find it. But you must seek it with all your heart. Start asking Him to show Himself. Be a pilgrim wherever you are, whatever the path. Buen Camino!