Walk in the Dark

Time for a different kind of blog update. A throwback if you will to the early "Convos" style where I get into a thinking mode and write out a more deeper entry than the what have I been doing. Hope to intersperse these along with weekly (hopefully sooner than that) updates about life here at Murlough.

So this one is an entry that I wrote down after a walk before I left the states where I was able to tie in a lot of the experience of a normal situation to how life and faith sometimes works.

It is amazing to walk a path in the light and in the dark. The dichotomy between them is striking yet telling.

In the light, you get to see the beauty and majesty of what is around you. You get to take in the sights and sound and soak in what all the senses allow. It's more of a peaceful and simple time whether you are alone or with good company. Life moves at a different pace and the ups and downs of the terrain are not obstacles but adventures and aspects that make you smile. The destination is in sight and a joy to behold, yet you can look back and appreciate just what you accomplished and have conquered.

But how often does the light fade and all that is around drops to dusk and then to dark, though you may be confident in the path you tread, the superfluous and extraneous details fade into the blackness. You and maybe others may worry about the journey as in the different light, yet you truest that you know the path well and you have enough tools to make it through. You can be offered help, take it or set out with what you have, some may even say, "go another way" or "are you sure the path is your way?" but deep down you know that you will be able to succeed.

So you pause and catch your breath and set out along the path before you. As your eyes adjust to the world around you, the path and the two steps in front of you become your focal point.

The first step always seems to be the hardest, since your eyes are not fully adjusted and your mind begins to focus on what you are about to challenge. But the first step does not slow you, you set out to get where you want, where you need to go. You stand and face a path you think you know, but the path is now foreign and new.

As your heartbeat quickens and your eyes are now focused on the path unfolding in front of you a feeling comes over you. Whether it is the knowledge you have, the experience gained or the tools at your disposal, you are able to find and keep near and along the narrow path.

Now about the path. It will shift and change, it rolls and weaves, giving you different footings and feels. the change can be abrupt or gentile still, but that should not shift your focus on the end result. The path is already set, not for you to change or blaze alone but to follow and trust it will get you home. The hills in front of you change your step and make you focus solely on the next two steps. You climb and then hurdle obstacles in the way, but knowing the pace at which you should stay. Beware the path is set but you cannot see far enough ahead to trust a sprint or jump will actually succeed.

So this cadence you start to set, with the knowledge that equal pacing will allow you to feel your way along the path with confidence. Your pace helps you feel out the changes around you to explore with more than just your sense of sight. You start to truly feel where the path may jump up, jut out or abruptly change and necessitates moving with focus and skill. The speed which you go can be set by yourself, but often times you find the terrain and the path itself sets your pace. But all around you are clues to help you safely navigate, everything combines to support forward movement.

Whether knowledge of the path itself or the tools you have been given, there are weapons allowed to assist your journey. It could be something to light the way; a cell phone, watch, flashlight, lantern or a candle as your assistance, but all are able to help. Since all have to do with sight and where the ability to see and the path meet they are your weapons against the darkness. You may clamor for a flashlight when all you have is a watch, but a watch will do if you trust it through. Light, any light casts out darkness and illuminates the path or obstacle in your way. So your tool, your weapon pairs with your sight to move along the path.
There will be times you can only look down and illuminate your feet, seeing only the very closest aspects of the path. Not being able to see or focus on anything but each step and the immediacy of the path, unable to fixate towards your goal. Sometimes you shine up ahead of you, along the path, as you trust your feet and look forward with anticipation what the path will bring next. You are able to see where the path bends and moves and focus on a new horizon, previously shielded in the darkness. Your trust in your feet and how you can move along the path is rewarded as you adjust and connect the dots from your feet to the path and to the next step. At other times you may have to use your light and sight to evaluate the obstacles you feel and sense around you. Making sure that a blind or forceful blazing of the trail will not lead to injury or ruin. You may continue to trust your feet and the solidity of the path before you but you see and determine how to attack the obstacles that line and effect the path. It may be branches that you search both low and high to determine if you can plow through, break apart or simply avoid. Some may encounter logs and stones which necessitates a hurdle or a side-step or even a meandering climb over it.

Other times still you will be smacked in the leg or bumped in the side by an obstacle that you did not see well enough. You may underestimate what it takes to surpass the challenge and find yourself scrambling to your feet to outdue it. But a stumble and fall or a slip does not disqualify you from continuing your journey, it is but just another reminder to press on and do not make the mistake again. For even a simple branch can smack you across the face if arrogance causes you to misidentify and underestimate the path before you. Sometimes a smack in the face or a bruised shin is exactly what you need to continue along the path, able to respect and move forward along the path.

There will come a time where the scanning, prepping, anticipating, and reacting become commonplace. A routine and cadence settles in and the path, though difficult is manageable and your trust is rewarded. These times you are allowed to enjoy the journey for what it is, reflect on where you have come from and look ahead to the next challenge, even with some anticipation.

But even after the routine settles in, a wayward branch can still do damage. A limb here or a jutting rock there can catch you and humble your brain and actions. Shaking your head at the silliness to expect things to sail smoothly and redoubling your efforts with a smile on your face.

Continuing as before you notice something new about the path. Your senses and thoughts go beyond what is in front of you and evaluate the bigger picture of the path. It is actually well kept as some points, there are rough edges or rocky slopes but also a smooth path, or rocks lined to help you along your way. As if either outside forces or those that have gone before took time to assist YOU on the journey. Modifications and improvements allow you easier tread and the rough path becomes almost a lane. Times may pass and you can see light streaming in. As if others are wanting, assisting and willing you to succeed. Some have put lights near the path to illuminate it all, intentionally helping you along your way. Still others have lights only for themselves but the radiance given off still allows you more sight and less darkness as you travel. This selfish light of others still affords you benefit and makes your own way clearer. It is almost as if the path or the path maker conspires to help and challenge you at the same time to progress. The confidence you have that others have completed the journey lifts your spirit as well. The lamppost is a marker to you and an encouragement to continue along your way, asking you to trust what you will finish the same way.

As all these parts of the journey along the path mingle and mesh, the end becomes nearer and nearer still. Before you know it you have reached sight of your goal. The path you've tread completes itself and welcomes you to your destination. You know exactly where to turn, and the next steps you take into total safety and beauty. It may lead to another different path, it may ask you to stop and rest or it may be your final destination, but the darkened path finds you through and to a different place. The aspects and intricacies you have traversed lead you onward and upward with confidence growing and planted deep within you. No matter the next stage you have accomplished something and seen it for it is. You have made it through the dark, leaving with skills and senses challenged and honed for your continued journey. You are able to return to the daylight and look back at what you have accomplished and finished. You swell with satisfaction and humble pride at how it all was finished. Then you turn with a smile, look forward and know that you are able.

You continue, in the light of glorious day.