A Place Called Roam
  • Home
  • Tao of Travel
  • The Best Of
  • Archives
  • About
  • Contact Me

ZEN TRAVEL MOMENT: LEAP OF FAITH

4/23/2013

 
Picture
For a moment, fear literally stopped me in my tracks.  My life flashed before my eyes (well, those chapters of my life devoted to the reckless abandon I’d thrived on back in the day) as I considered my options; go back or stay the course.

The course was a creek at Matthiessen State Park in northwestern Illinois.  The creek was peppered with just enough stones to entice Jimmy and me to press on.  We could hear a waterfall somewhere off in the distance.  
It wasn’t like the creek was raging with waters fueled by a spring thaw and my life was on the line. Think several inches of water gently meandering, pooling here and there maybe a foot deep, and the picture comes into focus.

No, my life wasn’t on the line; at the very least my shoes and several inches of my jeans would get a good soaking if the tops of the stones proved too slippery or too far apart for safe passage.  
 
Jimmy had taken a different route; as is often the case, he has his own ideas about which path to take. There was no following in his footsteps or depending on him to get me  through.  I was on my own.     
 
Safe passage; when had my life, my thinking been reduced to safe passage?  When had the caution I’d often thrown to the wind come back in my face to cripple my thinking, my  outlook, my options?  Okay, maybe I was overanalyzing a bit.    

Hell, it was just water I reasoned as the mental debate ensued.  It was a beautiful morning  too, with all the promise that comes with spring, including a day devoted to exploring the world beyond the safety of the predicable, the expected, the comfortable; beyond boring.    

The world stood still as I grappled with my next step, and analysis paralysis.  The choice seemed so miniscule and yet suddenly so profound.   

It was anticlimactic, my leap of faith; no splash, no regret, no fanfare.  Just another small moment of personal triumph that silently and surreptitiously tends to define the boundaries of my life; the opportunities, the joy, the satisfaction.   

It was a moment that left me fully aware I’d much rather take the chance of being wet with wonder than settling for being a dried up prune safely ensconced in old age.   




Comments are closed.

    About

    I'm searching for more meaning, magic and mystery in life through travel.  If you're searching for more info about me click on this link.   

    Categories

    All
    Attractions
    Botanic Gardens
    Cities
    Cruises
    Culture
    Europe
    Food
    Fun Foto Friday
    How You Venn?
    Islands
    Lake Geneva
    Life's Mysteries
    Middle East
    Museums/Memorials
    National Historic Landmark
    North America
    Nothing To Do With Travel
    Parks/zoos
    Photos
    Random Thoughts
    Restaurants
    This Thing Called Travel
    Top Ten
    Tuesday Travelista
    UNESCO World Heritage Site
    Who Knew?
    Zen Travel Moment

    View travelbug's photos on Trover

    Blog Roll

    This Is Indexed
    NatGeo Travel
    Science Dump
    Traveler Writers Exchange
    Matador 
    Brain Pickings
    House By the Sea
    Time Goes By
    The Happiness Project
    Dictionary of Obscure 
       Sorrows

    For Automatic Blog Updates
    in same time click the RSS Feed button below and sign up for email notices or click the Like button below for automatic updates to your Facebook page. 

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly