"The Going"
Feet with dust
Caked in cracks
Of calloused heels
Layers of skin memories
Tell of time
Spent walking, going
And coming
But mostly going
Away, and Memories peel off toes
Though blistered and scarred
Drawn forward, follow compass
Guided by magnetic field
Of unknown
Having learned the answer
Is always out there
Beyond bend
Around corner
Past horizon
Which will only be reached
By a long sequence
Of first steps
The next right one, not clear
Til the murkey water from the prior
Is settled, with patience
And listening
And stillness
And breathing deep with the waves.
Each step
Just as bold as the last
Just as scary
Just as essential
In the process of becoming.
But the more these calloused feet
Take step after step after step
The more it is clear
That reaching the horizon is not
The point
For the horizon is a fleeting myth
Made up by ones who claim
There is an end to be reached
In this life
You will not be satisfied
Til you get there
Can you not see
That the thrill of horizon reached
Is as fleeting as the clouds in the sky above it?
It melts away within moments
Revealing yet another horizon
Looming with temptation in the distance
Just out of reach
And you must now journey to it, you say,
For no, it is this horizon, you are sure
That will bring fulfilment,
And you embark, yet again,
On your never-ending pursuit
Of happiness.
But happiness is not found in horizons.
Happiness is found in the making
Of callouses on feet
Formed only by the step that can be taken
Now
In this moment
For everything you hope for in the horizon
Is found in the space of the stepping.
The point of all this walking
Is not the arriving
It is not the horizon.
It is the learning
It is the listening
It is the being
It is the becoming
It is the growing
And it is the going.
Cheers to the Journey, and may our Spirit always reside in a state of wonder.