Roads

It's probably too late (or too early depending on your life style) for me to put together any kind of rational post but I'm willing to give it a try...and I can't sleep.

So, lately something that has been on my mind is a little metaphorical story.  It seems like many of those close to me have been struggling with very real life experiences...deaths, illnesses, complete change in life status...even some just struggling with day to day events.  It's not for me to say what is hard for one person and what would be easy for another.  I myself find the thought of certain events impossible for me to navigate, yet others, my dear friends seem to stand against the wind with strength and nobility.  Yes, they hurt and yes, they do struggle, but they do not let the wind overcome them...their roots are deep and their souls nourished.

As I have watched as an outsider and thought almost constantly about all my loved ones...I often find myself comparing these experiences to driving on a road.  Some are cruising along in the carpool lane...music filling the air, companions aside them, strict lines holding them in place.  Others are changing from lane to lane, not sure of their path...adjusting their speed, some following others or leading.  Some are looking in the rear view mirror...longing for what was.  Some are speeding so fast they miss the beauty around them.  Some are ignoring the signs, some paying too much attention to them and ignoring the people that long to have their attention.  Some encounter snow and rain while others seem to have sunny weather.  Some must travel mountains and hills while others seem steady or must round curves.  Some are completely checking out and getting off the road all together...this is something that burns to the core.  You see, there is no on ramp after you check out...you're just out and the rest of us are left to travel the path without...that off ramp leads to the unknown for many...the afterlife...whatever you believe.  For me, I believe I will see these people again.  Some don't have a choice to check out...some souls have just lived clean through their time...and it is their time to exit.  Some choose to pollute their lives with things that speed up that process or make it hard to see out the window...thus making the off ramp the only clear and safe choice for them.  I get all this.  I get the challenges, I get the happiness, I get the adjustments and constant change that applies to the stages in life.

I find it so unique though that a simple drive to the market or a daily trip to work would bring about these thoughts.  I must admit that everything is this way for me...ok, most everything.  I think deeply and I am ALWAYS thinking.  My friends and family are constants in my mind, my thoughts, my prayers, my meditations.

Maybe it's just the time of the night (or day) that brings words to the surface.  Maybe it's just the person I am...this is probably it.  I just wish sometimes that I could sit and look at something without making it something so deep.  I rarely share these thoughts so I hope if you read this you understand it and you take away from it the vulnerability that is embedded in its truth. 

Much love to you all...and happy driving!!!