The Direction of Intention

“The future depends on what we do in the present”. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

It was a great comfort to return to the trail. After so many weeks of sickness, too weak to do the dishes, it felt like a homecoming. A long anticipated visit with an old friend.

Over time the yellow loop of the Des Plaines River Trail has become the place we walk when we need to sort out life’s challenges or to take a break from questions that nag. It is a loop of perhaps 2 miles and we generally walk the loop a few times. It is familiar and never the same – always changing, always uplifting, just like the people who surround us – our chosen-family.

As we stepped out of the car and onto the loop it occurred to me that we are much like our crazy Aussie dog: he runs rowdy circles when life’s excitement arises. We walk our loop for much the same reason.

A return to a well-known trail in a world that had dramatically changed since our last walk. I went to sleep on election night, fevered and aghast, knowing that the rest of our lives would be shaped by the nation’s selection of fascism over democracy, the abandonment of common decency. Our step back onto the trail was an attempt to reconnect to health: physical, mental and spiritual. Our step back onto the trail was an attempt to begin sorting through the question, “What now?”

“What now?” We walk. Just like we did before Covid. Just like we did before the election. We stand in the November sun and bask in what it has to offer. We delight in the deer when they show themselves. We regain center and root firmly in it. We use our voices and our artistry to do what the arts do best, what we’ve always done: open hearts and minds, point the way to a common center.

And so, on quaky legs, we walk to get stronger. We hold hands. We marvel at late autumn’s vibrant color, grateful for the moment we share. We refresh our hearts and spirit. We bow our heads and lean into the icy wind.

read Kerri’s blogpost about THE TRAIL

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