Wild Monday

Image source:  http://mi9.com/skeleton-wallpaper-3d-skeleton-wallpaper-walking-skeleton_29347.html

On my Just 10 morning walk, I looked for a topic for Miscellaneous Monday.  As I stepped off the yards and miles, I became very interested in identifying the flora in the landscape.  When the walking trail first opened, the sides were planted with many native bushes and trees.  At first, it was carefully tended but over time, the wild has stepped in.   Now almost ten years later, the landscape is a profusion of growth, weeds grow among the planted bushes.  At first, I thought about how neglected the trail side had become but I couldn't help but enjoy some of the pretty weeds and wild flowers.  It was time to strip to the bone and acknowledge the wild side.

Queen Anne's Lace danced in a gentle breeze.  Clover awaited bumbling bees.  Tansy Ragwort, a bane to bovines everywhere, sported smart, mustard-yellow flower clusters.  Salmon berries were heavy with fruit.  Oregon grape has begun coloring some of its leaves with a brilliant fire red.  Wild roses have faded, their long arching branches are now heavy with rose hips.  The world around me was tame and wild.  Both seemed to belong together.

The fact that I could name many of the plants before me, pleased me.  Life has not left me completely unprepared.   I knew that Queen Anne's Lace is wild carrot and edible as are the salmon berries.  I know that the dandelions with sharp-pointed leaves can be used as salad greens.  I knew I could eat clover.  I knew that even the stinging nettle can be tamed and made into greens or brewed as tea.   If  I'm every lost in the woods, I will not starve.

The fact that there were plants I could not name also pleased me.  There is much to learn.   There will always be something new.

Suddenly, I found myself very aware of the "feelings" of the people I meet on the trail.  Their bodies and movements shout at me as we pass each other.  Their moods and feelings are no secret.  In those moments, I discover how much I have shut out.  I have spent most of my life tuning out the "wildness" of the world because it felt overwhelming.  I've tried to keep my life, a well-manicured flower bed but the wilderness has always been waiting to come in.  The line between myself and others, between myself and the world seemed such a strong one.  It hasn't been.  We've always belonged together.  We've been walking side by side. Wild is everywhere.


Wild is full of passion.  It's where the zest for life has been hiding.  It's the source of great art.  It sings the music of the soul.  Welcome, Wild Monday, it's time we got to know each other. 

What Lies Beyond

Shimmering Saturday

(My sis, Janet used this as her profile pic on Facebook.  It seemed very apropos for today.  Thanks, J.)

As I started my Just 10 walk this beautiful, summer Saturday, I didn't expect the walk itself to be my topic.  Yet, the act of walking sat at the center of my thoughts.  Walking became more than walking.  This is what I discovered beneath the ordinary act of putting one foot in front of another.  I found that beyond my walk wisdom waits.

I love the idea of walking but I don't always enjoy the reality.  Along the way there are usually several points at which I just want to turn back.  My feet hurt.  My back hurts.  I'm tired.  I don't feel like walking.  Fortunately, my body is wiser than I am and it keeps going.
 
This morning I was doing a lot of protesting.  A back injury in my thirties left me with some nerve damage in my legs.  Many a morn my legs seem to be going a different directions than the rest of my torso.  A lovely bout of shingles this last year added a dimension of imbalance to my already wobbly legs.  Often the world spins at a dizzy rate and I struggle to hold on.  Some days I leave the house feeling that I must look like a drunken Raggedy Ann or old marionette with some evil puppet master pulling the strings.  If I got stuck thinking about what other might be thinking, I'd never leave the house.

This morning my legs were busy doing an odd sloppy lurch.  I wanted to turn back but my body was smart enough to keep moving forward.  I thought about how easy it is to take walking for granted.  It's really much more complicated than it seems.   Some times we don't appreciate something until it's taken from us.  For a moment, I wanted to indulge in self-pity.  "Why does everything have to be so hard?" I moaned.

My body replied,  "What are you talking about?  Hard?  I'm the one doing the work.  This isn't so bad.
When I feel dizzy, I pick a point on the horizon.  I focus on that and concentrate on balancing and walking.  I think I'm doing just fine.  Considering your age and what's happened to you, you're doing pretty well.  Now, stop complaining and get moving!"

I had to smile.  My body is a lot smarter than I am sometimes.  I thought about all the things that slow me down in life.  I thought about how my body has compensated for what it lacks and how it gets by.  I thought of how all the injuries, "the slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune" have changed me.  It isn't always for the worse.  In fact, these slings and arrows, while painful have been valuable opportunities.  They have taught me how much I have to be grateful for and how amazing I can be.

My walk today was so much more than a walk.  It took me to a place I never expected to reach.