And then it was that I made to the near outskirts of the town of Towson, and then it was that I made my way easily into the subdivision where my cousins Betsy & Joel lived, and it was then that I was able to receive the gracious gift of a walk-stopover they had offered me just a few days prior …

“Sometimes I picture my heart like the carry-on suitcase I dream I carry around the world. Now my ego tells me over & over again that there’s not enough room for everything or everyone in that carry-on. My ego tells me that I have to choose carefully & wisely what I am to take along. And it tells me that two things I must pack before all others are 01) the fear I must feel for (or at the least the caution I must have around) all strangers and 02) all the pains I have felt in my past. It tells me to take all those bits of hesitancy and doubt and stuff them first and foremost into my conta8ner companion, to always have them on hand. And I could have listened to my ego’s advice – I could have stuffed all those scars & grievances into my bag and dragged them with me on my adventure. And yet that really is a lot of weight to carry, and this was supposed to be a trip about Light & Love. So I chose instead to carry with me the things I cherished about my past dealings with others, and let them far more brightly color all my meetings with those met along my way … Life is calling us all – the other life, the analogue life, the real life, the courageous life. And Nature is calling us similarly – as are the people all around us every day. In truth, there are scores of wondrous souls waiting to be well met, and waiting to be appreciated and waiting to be love and be loved. So go forth today and meet them well.” ~ inspired by Lauren F. Watt & Bryant McGill

Filed under: Peace Pilgrimage #02: Walking HOME (2019) by Scaughdt