UPHILL AND DOWNHILL

Theme for April: Receptivity

Monday, April 12, 2021

After walking with Delycia recently up and down the small hills in the shoreline village of Noank (CT), it was reassuring to recall the simple fact that for every uphill there’s a downhill, and for every struggle there’s eventually some sort of peace. I puffed and panted up the hills by the sea, but coming down, I loosened up and felt my breath flowing freely. It was work on the uphill, but almost like amusement on the downhill. This is a little like life, I was thinking later – this cycle of labor followed by leisure, turmoil followed by at least a touch of tranquility. There will always be uphill climbs in my life, and they will always bring sweat and distress, but each will lead, in due course, to fairly free and easy downhill runs and at least a short-lived rest. It’s good to know that beyond each of my future mountains will be a restful break and then an easily sloping trail. 

Here’s an instant-on-the-spot spoken poem I made this morning on another amazing morning walk:

GIFTS ON THE TRAIL
a spoken-on-the-spot poem
made on April 12, 2021, at 8:02 a.m.
on the Denison Pequotsepos Trail

Bring me your gifts, 
bird songs. Shake up 
my life in a soft way, 
like our footsteps 
smoothly saying hello 
to the trail, as life 
takes its time, 
and the birds 
share their sincerity 
and the goodness 
of the great earth. 

And … here are some scenes from our morning walk: