I’m not rushing the process. In fact, I border on savoring the process. I prepped my gear last night and then this morning I put it together and hiked into one of my absolute favorite spots in this (Illinois-Wisconsin) Stateline area. The ridges I hiked, the bottomlands I traversed, and the riverbank I now overlook are sacred. It’s that simple.
Oftentimes I come into an area such as this, and after making a fire, cooking, and then eating, I am left to wonder what just happened as I hike back out. While I enjoy every opportunity to head out into the woods, it’s times like that when I wish I’d paused long enough to simply take everything in, sense it on all accounts, and not be in such a hurry. I guess in those situations I typically feel as though I should have stopped and smelled the roses. Today I’m doing just that.
I took a few pictures, but not like I usually do. Instead I set up my phone and made a simple video of what has become routine at this point. I let it run and only paused it a couple of times until the battery died. It will be interesting to watch it on the flipside of this outing. It will document what I do; from fire to meal.
So I am left here next to the fire. My dog Kora is beside me on her flannel lined blanket as we share a fleece. She stares out into the woods keeping watch of any movements and things unseen by my own eyes. My boots and gaiters steam from the radiating heat, and the river water in my pot boils in preparation for my second cup of cocoa. In the meantime I write. It’s what I like to do.
Today it’s what I want to do, because we’re about to enter a long stretch at school as we continue to push onward. I feel as though I need this time to gather myself before the wintertime marathon. Getting out here is my fuel; where I can hear the crows, geese, and eagles in the distance, and the breezes rattling the remnant leaves as they move through the bare branches. For this I am thankful.
We have today off from school in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. While I am grateful for this day off in order to be where I am today, I ponder what propelled him in those difficult circumstances. As I sit on this riverbank, deep in snow, listening to the hiss of the dying fire, I am left to wonder in awe at a man who with character and ambition pushed onward beyond doubt, fear, pain, and the exhaustion against seemingly insurmountable odds to work for something greater than himself. Fighting with love, he worked for and talked about what a model of freedom could look like; a battle that was a hundred years in the making since the mark of the Civil War.
Although Dr. King had spoken of this dream for equality several times beforehand, on the day of the “March on Washington” in 1963, it was said that he had taken some of the ideas behind his “dream” out of his speech. Thank goodness for the encouragement from Mahalia Jackson who reminded him of his dream while he was in the middle of talking from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Following Mahalia’s comment, “Tell them about the dream Martin.” he paused, laid aside his prepared notes, and spoke from the heart. Imagine that. Imagine the courage; a courage of confidence and knowledge of what to say, and how to say it.
That my friends is bravery at its finest. Imagine what was going on behind the scenes. Yet, despite the hatred and ignorance around him, he ventured forth and continued on with a team of support behind him, and a mass of humanity before him. What a legacy of love, sacrifice, and servanthood. For a people. For a nation. Thank you Dr. King for what you spoke then and continue to teach even now, almost 60 years later.
Today, beside my fire and its embers, Dr. King’s legacy is definitely worth thinking about and contemplating with reflection. It leads me to think about my own growth, character, and maturation. I savor that process of understanding.
See you along The Way...
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CLICK BELOW FOR THE VIDEOS THAT FOLLOW WHAT I DO TO PREPARE FOR MY FIRE AND MEAL
PART#1
PART#2
(To watch the videos you may need to change the "view version"
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