©IBKimage2012

Good Morning.  Yes I know it’s not Thursday evening nor have I made contact for three weeks.  I’ve been preparing for and have taken a two week hiking trip to Northern England, specifically an 84 mile hike along Hadrian’s Wall Path from east to west. My companions were 8 members of the Colorado Mountain Club .  With walks in London to lodging, train stations, tubes (subway) as well as our bed and breakfast lodging off trail, it was well over a hundred miles  in 10 days.  Even though I’ve completed the walk and the open blisters are healing and I’ve walked gently every day since coming home, I’m still astounded that I did “this”.

Time spent walking, away from the cacophony of modern noise and incessant marketing,allows one to reflect at many levels.  Walking through many pastures of  “moms” with spring lambs, seeing a brand new baby calf minutes after birth with the mother still laboring to deliver the afterbirth, listening to the sweet music of birds singing,  reawakens ones delight in the  beauty possible in every day.  The challenge is to remember to take intentional steps to experience that delight when we’re slogging through the ordinary.

Since coming home, I have become a morning person with the jet lag adjustment.  It’s been delightful but of course most of you reading this already know that.  My challenge to you is try the opposite of the familiar from time to time.

I’l have more to share in the coming weeks about “hiking the wall”.  Todays image is an example of  an everyday delight.  I took a few photos with my phone camera just to see how it worked and was delighted with the results.

IBK