July 12 is a good day to being born by virtue of the company. According to the Writer's Almanac, today was born Pablo Neruda (1904) and Julius Caesar (100 BC). Also, in 1817, Henry David Thoreau was born. His parents named him David Henry; hence, we share the day of birth and a middle name. As my trip to the mountains is just nearing two weeks away, Thoreau's dreams of open roads and trails resonate.
Now I yearn for one of those old, meandering, dry, uninhabited roads which lead away from towns, which lead us away from temptation, which conduct to the outside of earth, or its uppermost crust; … along which you may travel like a pilgrim, going nowhither; … where your head is more in heaven than your feet are on earth; … where you can walk and think with the least obstruction, there being nothing to measure progress by; … by which you may go to the uttermost parts of the earth.To a certain extent, the trek will be purposeful. We will measure how much trail we have covered and how far we have left to go. But the openness is what I am eager to experience. All the more, I realize the need to make the best of preparations so I not only have what I require for the hike but also can leave behind those matters which will be beyond my influence while I am away. That is how this expedition becomes a pilgrimage. It is an opportunity to re-learn how to live in the moment and release what is not within my control.
