Walking the pathway of life

Walking into the Sunset – you never know what is around the corner

I walk a lot! And on all sorts of paths, some rocky, some muddy, some straight, some winding, some out in the open, some in woodlands – there is a whole variety, which of course is partly what makes it so interesting.

Sometimes I walk on trailways, old railway lines that have been turned into footpaths. These are not the most interesting because generally they are straight or only gently curving so that you can see what is coming from miles away…..and its usually more of the same, fairly wide on a man made surface with maybe shrubbery on each side. And of course they are pretty flat. Now that’s not to say that I don’t enjoy walking them, but they are not my favourite.

I much prefer a winding path, one where you don’t know what is coming up because there is always a surprise round the corner. You never know what you are going to come across. When I backpacked the Pembrokeshire Coast Path for instance I actually walked three or four times the linear distance between the start and finish of the walk because it winds in and out and up and down incessantly. But its a great path. You can be on a high headland one minute and sat in lovely cove the next.

There were times though when I felt I could give up – carrying 20Kg on your back over many, constant, steep, seemingly endless headlands can make you feel that way, especially near the end of the day. But you just keep walking, keep putting one foot in front of the other, knowing that that will get you there. Its at those times you get your walking pole out to help you, and I had a maxim that I would repeat over and over to myself in time with my steps, ‘One foot in front of the other gets you there’.

With a winding path, even if you are on an uninteresting part, or a steep part, or a difficult rocky part, you know that it can change round the next bend so you walk expectantly. You constantly wonder what is coming. You look forward to finding interesting things at any and every moment.

It just occurred to me that life is a bit like that. Sometimes our path may be flat and wide, maybe at times a bit uninteresting. Sometimes the path gets tough or rocky. Sometimes you can feel like you are stuck in the mud. Sometimes it can seem a really steep climb which appears never ending. But whatever you are going through at this moment, you need to remember that if you keep on walking, keep on pressing forward, keep putting one foot in front of the other, something will change because life is a winding path and you never know what is around the corner.

And, do you know what, Its always at the end of a tough climb that you get the best views! Its always after the rain that the sun seems brighter.

Oh, and of course, its the steep climbs that keep us fitter.

Thanks for visiting Time to Reflect and for reflecting with me.

(All words and pictures on this blog are copyright of Terry Yarrow and must not be reproduced without permission)