It’s strange how you can forget an event or moment
Until subtly, without fanfare, something triggers the memory
And it suddenly rushes back
In a flashflood of cerebral photographs and emotion.
It might be a smell, a song, a word, a picture,
Or a splinter...
The path I followed had led me to a long and narrow footbridge,
Suspended high above, spanning, a deep ravine
Carved by wind, rain, time and erosion.
I stepped out onto the swaying structure with apprehension,
No, it wasn’t even apprehension …
Each single step was made with unabashed fear.
I was afraid that I wouldn’t make it to the other side…
I was afraid to look down into the vast chasm below…
I was afraid that I would pitch forward and fall,
And the falling would not stop.
The river below rushed
In a sparkling flourish of water over stone,
And the sunlight dancing ‘tween the two was dizzying.
The rickety slats beneath my feet were unmeasured,
Balance was difficult to maintain.
The rope rail burned my hand
And left brittle straw-like splinters in my palm.
Any attempt at grace was lost
But for the red-tailed hawk that soared,
Itself, gracefully upon the canyon breezes.
For all the many times that it has been written,
"Life is a journey."
A journey fraught with indescribable highs and abysmal lows.
But we have to believe that our joys and our blessings
Outnumber the anquish tenfold.
So slow down, be deliberate.
It is a journey, not a race.
Dare to stand close to the edge,
And listen to the beating of your pounding heart
And the wind as it soars
Thru the canyons of your quiet soul.
Live with purpose, without regret
In your heart, in your soul, in yourself…
Just Believe...
