Keep Walking

The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.


Thomas Paine
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Helllo Val
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Tuesday I went for a long walk, to and fro. I had some errands and some shopping to do. On the way back I was pulling a shopping cart full of groceries and other sundries. (You are realy fascinated with this essay, aren't you?)

My feet and my legs cooperated with me the whole way. The last step on the journey was hauling the shopping cart up the stairs. When I got here I was exhausted. (Now you're really intrigued, admit it. Wait, it gets better.)

A month or so ago I couldn't walk at all except on crutches. That made shopping a very tricky business. If I went a short distance I could take the shopping cart and one crutch. If I had to go a greater distance it was both crutches and my back pack. (I hope you're taking notes, or saving this on your little iPad, or whatever fiendish gadget you use.)

For several years my peregrination involved a cane and when I found I couldn't depend upon the cane is when I went to the crutches. (Got that?)

Even before the crutches came into my life some well meaning but misinformed friends set to work to fix me, by moving me into an old folks, assisted living, nursing home and trying to arrange for a new hip. One of them assured me I would soon be bed ridden. (Here's the wind up. Get ready for the pitch.)

I choose to live my life by the three words that appear at the bottom of this epic. (Don't scroll down yet. I'm not finished.) I decided that the answer to this particular conflict was to walk. True, someone was driving me around for a while until that person became someone I didn't want to know. But since then I've been basically on my own two feet, literally. (Are you with me?)

Then one day, about a month or so ago, I took the crutches but didn't use them. I carried them with me on a long walk, but never used them. The next day that I went out, I went without the crutches. It felt strange walking out without anything in my hand to lean on. No cane, no crutches. I was leaning on spirit.

(Here's the pitch.) My crutches are now in the corner. If I had a fire place they would be hanging above it, sort of like my own version of a stuffed moose head. I still have trouble walking but every time I take to the outside it gets easier. And that's how it is. We have more ability to face up to and achieve a triumph over the conflicts in our lives than we think we do. Whatever it is, the solution is already there, the answer is already there, the idea is already there, they simply have to be discovered. Don't fall prey to the temptation to believe that someone else can solve your problems, keep walking and do what it says at the bottom of this page.


DB - Vagabond Journeys
Never Give Up
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