Time Measured by Moments

Time is not measured by clocks but by moments.

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I had better start this thing before I get any older. 

"Time is very slow for 

those who wait.  

Very fast for those who 

are scared.  Very long for 

those who lament.  

Very short for those who celebrate.  

But for those who love, 

time is eternal."

-William Shakespeare

Common Ground

Common Ground

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"Always in big woods when you leave familiar ground and step off alone into a new place there will be, along with the feelings of curiosity and excitement, a little nagging dread--You are undertaking the first experience, not of the place, but of yourself in that place. It is an experience of our essential loneliness, for nobody can discover the world for anybody else. It is only after we have discovered it for ourselves that it becomes a common ground and a common bond, and we cease to be alone."
-- Wendell Berry

"It may be when we no longer know what we have to do, we have come to our real work, and that when we no longer know which way to go, we have begun our real journey." 
-- Wendell Berry

Cathedral

God whispers to us in the cathedral of His wilderness.

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Be assured the almighty teaches and lectures along the trail. Yes, I am playing hooky from church walking the Appalachian Trail on a Sunday morning when my rear end should be parked in a pew. God in his grace keeps watch and uses every experience to give guidance and instruction. It is not by coincidence that the trail runs through a nasty two mile stretch of scree demanding my attentive focus on each step. Daring to look ahead is to risk injury or worst a broken limb. The lesson: “My child, you focus on the next step and insure secure footing. Don’t bother thinking long-term. That is something I have already worked out. The going in this stretch is rough. Your chief concern is to make sure you do not stumble and fall or injure yourself. Head down my son and focus on your next step.” The corollary to life: Stop worrying about trying to make long-range decisions. Look at what you are up against at the moment and act accordingly.

Persistence

Persistence

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"A river cuts through a rock not because of its power, but its persistence." 
- Jim Watkins

"Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragements, and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak." 
-Thomas Carlyle

High Aspirations

“Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.” - John Wesley

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For my friends who worry that somehow I have become absent without leave (AWOL) on the Appalachian Trail: Houses of worship literally intersect the AT. It is but for the grace of God I do not stumble off the side of a mountain. I am headed once again to the Great Smoky Mountains to continue a sabbatical of discernment and bold decisions. I am not AWOL, but a dreamer determined to make something of my dreams. I hike the trail. When I finish, I will return to the trail.

Lord, let the high aspirations and goals I set be demanding of myself and not of other people.

Weakness versus Strength

"Never let weakness convince you that you lack strength." - Unknown

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There are thirty-two months that lie between today and Springer Mountain.  Time to physically prepare.  When a 20 pound kettlebell sets my extended arm to quivering, my trainer scampers to find lesser weight. I want to pretend I do not feel his help on assisted pull-ups, but I must live in reality.   It is time to stop daydreaming and start living the dream.

“Weakness is not a fault … unless it's ignored.  Weakness is a requirement.  It's a prerequisite for strength.  In our weakness we are made strong.  We do not get stronger by lifting something we can already handle.  Our strength builds during weakness.  Without weakness, without challenge, there will be no change.”  
- Bonnie Pfiester

Whispers

"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world." - C. S. Lewis

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Wilderness is the cathedral and the classroom. Quiet breezes whisper on pleasant days. Misty mornings speak to our self-determination. Violent thunderstorms shout instructions and guidance.  The destiny is ours to surrender and accept the invitation, to replace life as usual, to learn to dance with discomfort and suffering, to allow them to redirect our focus.