July 21,2024
I took myself on an adventure beyond what’s now become my “usual”. I drove 2 hours to southern OH to Arc of Appalachia for the open house part of the event Mothapalooza, a weekend focused on caterpillars! That’s what thecaterpillarlab.org brings to the world! What an eye-opener!
Anyway, I spent the night in the woods where one of my sisters lives now and walked on one of the trails in Arcofappalachia.org.
Many thoughts and feelings and ideas arose as I walked at a comfortable pace, used my senses, ignored my resistance to connecting, and reflected on walking in service. Here are some of them:
* Gratitude for the people who have the vision and fortitude to do what it takes to create nature preserves and what I could do;
* Confirmation that looking for colors is a gateway for discovering memorable and intriguing phenomena and relationships in Nature;
* Abandoning the “don’t get my shoes wet” rule that let me add another memorable and fulfilling experience to my walk by walking in the creek;
* Confirmation that ignoring my “don’t touch!” gremlin and touching the massive rock wall next to the trail let me feel the tiny grains of sand covering the surface, suggesting a metaphor for how insurmountable obstacles might dissolve;
* Reflecting on how to respond to a hiker’s lament on the belief that he might never thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. In short, that’s my aim in this group: discover what it is that we desire to FEEL that walking the AT appears to satisfy for us! Explore what we imagine that walking the AT will provide for us.
Let’s talk about THAT!