Find Yourself Off-Roading (audio)

There are many roads we might travel during a lifetime. Some roads are scenic and slow, some are bumpy and pocked with jarring holes, some become so routine a mind can travel elsewhere while autopilot steers us there, some leave us temporarily stuck, cursing at other drivers and our bad luck, some are lined with vista-blocking concrete and visible heat, some allow us to travel only one-way, and others bring us to a dead-end, forcing us to turn around and try again.

The paths stretched before us can become so vast that we can spend all our time planning, reaching the end of our road before ever deciding which direction to go.

There are many roads yet to explore and many are a memory in our rear-view mirror, but if it is your interior and not an exterior destination you are seeking to find, then leave well-traveled roads behind and let your heart be the guide. Expect to be surprised by what awaits and what you can create when you color outside of the well-defined lines.

So much has changed in my life, in myself since I wrote this piece in August of 2021. More than I can process in one morning writing session. Like then, I am writing from Oregon, which has become a beautiful home-away-from home, because of Sammi Lee’s residence here and my strong connection to trees and water. The heartbreak I first felt when Little Miss S moved away, has been replaced with great gratitude toward her choices, her successes, and her ability to creatively move through challenges.

She and her boyfriend are enjoying a few days away to celebrate their shared October birthdays. Her birthday offers a reason for reflection, as it happens for parents. Reflection can also deliver a touch of melancholy, which I feel, as I remember the little artist playing and learning. I also feel a quiet joy surrounding this phase of life (hers and mine), as I watch the sun burst through the brilliant crimson leaves.