at the airport

Barbara dropped me off... My poor sweet one... She got over COVID last week, but is still coughing and even had a fever yesterday. She's going home and right back to bed.

My mind is definitely on the trail. In a way, I'm not even excited right now... Just ready to get this thing started. I've been lazy in the last few days... Suddenly damn tired of the same walks and trails I've used so well to train. I got in 365 miles of walking since the latter part of January, but that meant a lot of seeing the same place over and over. I could walk from Markt Schwaben to Munich blindfolded now, lol...

I am always refreshed and lifted up from my claustrophobic thoughts about the logistics of this thing when I recall how lucky I am to get to do something like this. If I look at the media and culture, I see wailing and unhappiness everywhere. But we live like princes of the realm. If we can't enjoy ourselves now, then what hope is there ever of enjoying life?

When I say enjoy, I don't mean the kind of pleasure you get from drinking or going down a roller coaster. I mean meeting the world with all parts of you. The part that believes in truth... Enjoys expressing truth. The part that can see the transformation wrought by the giving of a perfect gift... Must give to enjoy. The part that admires the overcoming of struggle... Must struggle to enjoy, even if the struggle is contrived, like a mountain climb or...a long walk.

Somehow I think that to be worthy of the gift we've received we should try to appreciate it in this way. But I am not really doing anything. There are courageous people and I am not in their company. But maybe I can become better, by my lights.

Boarding soon... Thanks everyone for being here... It means a lot to me that you enjoy the story.