My family went up to Watersmeet, Michigan for the week before Christmas. We had a great time renting a cabin, making food, cross-country skiing and canoeing. We also went for a hike around Clark Lake in a snow storm. It was tough going, simply because we had to hike through deep snow. The trees did keep most of the snow off the trail; yet it was still difficult to figure out where the trail was.
Fortunately, the trail was marked with blue rectangles painted on the trees. One would appear about every thirty feet or so. When we couldn’t figure out where the trail was heading, due to the snow fall, we’d look for the next patch of blue bark.
I thought about how the blue markings are a good metaphor for finding one’s way in one’s life. Sometimes, you can’t make out where the trail is, so you have to look for other indicators to determine which direction you’re heading. Sometimes my mountain bike rides provide such markers for me; at other times, it’s found in the poetry of Wang Wei. We all have different ways of navigating our lives. It’s good to know what they are, so we don’t get lost when the snow storms.
Serenity 