The Long And Winding Road

I love paths. I always have. I remember as a child I would spend hours in my backyard making paths in newly fallen snow, then, when it snowed again, which it did quite frequently in Newfoundland, I would spend hours following the indentations in the snow where I had made the path in the first place. Yesterday, while I was making my bed I happened to glance out the window and saw a path winding away into the bush. This path is not an unfamiliar path to me, I have walked it many times. But yesterday it looked so inviting that I thought I would take a picture of it. (The ongoing dizziness prevented me from following it). I love the look of winding paths and I love the way it feels to walk down one. There's always a sense of the unexpected around the next turn.

When Hubby and I moved here we were delighted to find that the original wagon trail that the pioneers used to get to HH wound it's way through our property. To the east, the trail is covered with other people's property and is hard to find in among the fields and streets that cover it, but it is there. To the west though the trail is very distinctive. The old wagon trail has become a new quad trail and I walk it frequently. However the trail that you see in the picture is nothing more than a deer trail that my kids follow when they are going to their fort. It is a happy little trail that winds its way through our property and ends up at the fence of our neighbour's property. From there you can follow the fence line and somewhere in the bush down there we have a little spot with a firepit and a nice place to stop.

I can't help thinking that trails are rather like life. There is the main one that you follow every day of your life but then branching off are all the little trails that have the potential to become the main trail. If you look behind you can see all the little trails that you didn't take and kept right on going past. They are all winding and sometimes they connect with other people's trails. Sometimes several people follow the same trail. It's cool (did I just date myself using that word?) to see the trail ahead of you and know that there are others following the same trail, but sometimes it is nice to get off the beaten path and follow the road less traveled.
I think that is why I like paths because there is so much opportunity to see what lies ahead, to share the path with a friend, and ultimately to walk down the path without hesitation, whether it be the path of life or just a path in the woods.

My path, the one that I took the picture of, was never so clear as yesterday with the newly fallen snow making it more apparent. And though I've walked that trail a hundred times I never really saw it before. It took looking out the window and seeing it from a different vantage point to realize how wonderful it actually is.

And so you see, when I see the opportunity to take a picture of a winding path, I take it. It is because they are so inviting to me and a little bit of a curiosity that I love them so. Next time you see a trail or path, maybe you will think, "Ah here's a trail like the one Frankie was taking about", and with any luck, if you follow that trail you will be led to something interesting, something that ultimately makes your life a little nicer. Because sometimes its the little paths that you don't see so well that lead you to the great things in life.

Happy trails to you.....