Here is another post I originally wrote for the March Reno Friends blog at http://www.renofriends.org/.
Last winter, a young couple from South Lake Tahoe visited our Meeting. When we ended Silent Worship and asked for afterthoughts, the man spoke. During the silence he’d been meditating on their work making snowshoe trails through the forest. It was a snowy winter, so there was a recurring need to set new trails to help people unfamiliar with the area find their way through the forest. In his reflections, he’d been pondering the deeper meaning of leaving trails for others to follow along the path of life.
A couple of weeks ago, my partner and I stayed a few days in a cabin and cross country skied in the mountain meadows near Tahoe. The first thing we did was get a trail map with suggestions from a local expert on which trails would be best for us to try. We usually stick with a set trail our first time in a new spot. When we follow the trails of others, I don’t have to think about the path. I notice the sky, the mountain peaks, birds in the trees, the glint of sunlight like diamonds on the snow, the crisp feel of the air on my face.
As we become familiar with the lay of the land, we often wander off creating our own trail. This requires more focus on choosing a course over hills and through trees, and a willingness to take risks. Sometimes it works out beautifully and we find an awesome new way through the woods and meadows, enjoying new vistas and spots for lunch. There is a thrill to making fresh tracks in the snow, particularly when it has just the right firmness and you can float easily over the top crust without breaking through.
Other times, we don’t choose the best way. On this trip, the snow was hard-packed and icy. We decided to cut off the main trail and find our own way down to the meadow below. Unfortunately, I picked a hill too steep for me to get down safely. Sometimes you can’t tell that until you are committed. I fell. Assessing the situation, I pulled off my skis and went the rest of the way down on my hands and knees! At the bottom, I put my skis back on and we floated through the meadow, over shorter hills, and back to the car. Last time we tried breaking our own trail, we had a lovely ski, but ended up on the other side of a river and had to walk a mile back to our car with our skis and poles over our shoulders! It was exhausting.
In reflecting on trails, I’ve come to see that sometimes it’s critical to follow a trail someone else set who knows better than you where to go. Other times, I enjoy the adventure of discovering a new path and seeing where it will take me. Some of those are delightful and worthy of sharing; others need to be marked with a big sign saying, “Don’t go this way!”
Queries:
How do I discern when to follow the trail another has set vs. when to break a new trail for myself?
What blocks me from heeding the wisdom of those who have gone before me?
What blocks me from heeding my own inner wisdom and charting a unique-to-me course?
New Reflections Over the Last Week
It’s interesting to read this now and reflect on navigating my way through COVID-19 and the resulting fear currently gripping our nation and communities. How do I best care for myself and those I love? What do the authorities in the medical community advise? What are the wishes of those around me? How do I honor my own wisdom and needs?
What I am noticing is that answers to these questions can shift daily, depending on individual circumstances and the evolving situation. Setting any hard and fast rules has proven impossible for me. I take each moment as it comes and make the best choices I can.
Friends have a saying I love, “I’ll hold you in the Light.” I’m holding me, you, and all of us in the Light that we might make the best decisions we can to stay healthy and safe, while still living our lives and remaining connected to one another.