With Spring right around the corner, weather giving me a slight break, the hiking has begun. I am training my dog Auggie to have trail manners, so with dog in tow last weekend I went hiking. The sun was out, the air still had a bite to it, winter is not going to leave us easily. Auggie is only 2 so full of spirit, he went running ahead but never out of sight, he would stop, turn around and look at me, big smile upon his face, life is good.

As we hiked a smile came across my face, cause at that moment, I realized we are a lot like Auggie. If you have read any of my past columns you will see that I use hiking as an analogy. We too have a tendency to rush boldly ahead, only to realize the distance we have come, so we stop and look back, letting life catch up to us. I love history and was in the midst of reading my Archeology magazine as I was enthralled in this one article on Egyptian culture and its influence on our western culture, there came a point that as I finished one page it had me jumping to a page further into the magazine. I flipped through found my page, but only after going back a couple of times reflecting what I just read then continuing on did I feel secure I didn’t miss something.

Buddhism holds that everything is in constant flux. Thus the question is whether we are to accept change passively and be swept away by it or whether we are to take the lead and create positive changes on our own initiative. While conservatism and self-protection might be likened to winter, night, and death, the spirit of pioneering and attempting to realize ideals evokes images of spring, morning, and birth.

It is approaching Spring, it is morning, and what my day holds I have no idea, I am sure sometime today I will stumble on a few stones, hopefully not falling on my face, but the beauty this moment holds, my fingers sliding across the keys, creating words that like the sun hitting the leaves cause stop to take in their beauty. This what I write is just a mere pebble that hopefully will slow you down long enough to ask yourself questions, to look at what is around you now, not reflect on the past, the past is history, but to see the beauty that envelops you now, this moment, no other. I came across a Buddhist quote, “don’t think about how vast the Universe is, it will only hurt your head.” So my friends don’t think about how big life is, how many problems you may have, the love that walked away, it will only hurt your head.

I am now going to stop on my hike, and take a moment to thank my muses, you know who you are, you challenge me to think, you encourage me to write, by knowing you I have seen the truth, and the beauty, you have opened my heart to love, and have let me walk in your life. Thank you.