Al's Musings

The Walk

I walk along the edge of a lake. I am a walker, not a runner. I want to slow life down a bit if that is possible. I see the green reflection of the trees on the blue of the water, one dependent on the other. I seek this day to be out in nature. I wish to spend some time away from the clock. I need to escape from things that demand much of me. I need to walk without purpose— without the necessity of doing much calculated thinking. I want to find a place away from the hollering billboards, the screaming headlines, the blaring TVs and radios, and the roaring automobiles.

I have found a place to go to be quiet, but it is not a place of silence. For a moment, the music of life is clear. A tree sings to me. Is it the wind or just my imagination? Whatever it is, it speaks to something deep inside me. I stop and listen to the grasses whispering in the breeze. The leaves of the trees rustle and clack as an accompaniment. It seems as though the grasses and the trees whip themselves around until the wind blows.

As I walk, I hear the same sounds that other walkers like me have been hearing for ages. This walk is yet another great gift of nature. It offers me freedom from the incessant tail chasing that sometimes becomes my life. Putting one foot in front of another down this path softens the boundaries of my imagination. The Hopis believe that their prayers keep this world spinning on its axis. I can't help but believe that my quiet walk must do the same. There is a magic to be found in a walk along the shores of this beautiful lake. I feel as though I belong in this place. A walk here allows me to forget the bad things in the world and forces me to remember the good things. And all I have to do is to listen.

©Al Batt