Blazing the Trail!

The Boy Scouts said it would take far too much to blaze a trail through the underbrush to connect the subdivision with the Church grounds--the sacred grounds for my dog's walks.  So as I reported in an earlier post, I blazed it myself and hung large yellow ribbon along the way to mark the ground's contours--that in itself took more than an hour.  So what got into me when I rose early and hit the woods to clear the trail? 

Now, we're not talking national park quality--just a trail, with enough cleared to walk it without tearing up the woods.  I steered clear of what I suspect is a fox den and where the deer have their own path.  The new trail winds around with branches, logs to mark the way.  My dog walked it the other day and it opened a whole new world of scents for her. 

Something there is in us that seeks a trail.  Even Dante had its traveler enter the woods in a place where there was not trail--and thereby created one by walking into the woods itself.  Frost came to a place where it went in two directions--and the choice--made all the difference for the walker.  Christians are called the People of the Way--following the Way of Jesus, the Way of the Cross.  For me, it was all about connection.  To connect with the small island of woods in the middle of a subdivision, with the wildlife--to vanish from suburbia without seeing or hearing anything from the anthill of people. There is refreshment for the soul in that connection.

Oh sure, plenty of parks and hikes a few hours away.  But this one, well, it is right here for me to recall what matters, a taste of creation no matter how small renews the spirit.  Funny how we discover these places by looking through the eyes of the soul. It is after all alot more than just woods.