Walking the Wicklow Way is my teacher

Walking the Wicklow Way is my teacher.  Here are some lessons She is offering to me. Now I have the choice to learn or not....

• Wherever you go, there you are. How can I be distracted from my pilgrimage when I'm hiking up, up, up, and down, down, down for miles and miles and miles?  For 4 days now?  I find myself worrying about others on the walk with me... worrying that they are ok... worrying that I'm not doing what is expected... worrying about what others think about me.... and yet, they are very much into their own walk and their own "taking care of themselves."  Why do I feel the need to make sure everyone is okay and happy?  Ah, my demons of perfectionism and "is everyone happy?" are alive and well even in the extraordinary landscapes and most amazing companions who are walking their pilgrimage without my "help."

• There is such great joy in saying, "I've seen a photo of this view" and now I'm standing there. And yes, there is always a photo taken of me standing there.  My beloved has walked the Wicklow Way 2 times before (hence the photos). Even in my imagination there was never a thought that I could do this.  Until last year when I asked Gil what he wanted for his 60th birthday and he said, "To go to Ireland."  Then the Divine opened my mind to think, "I wonder if I could walk the Wicklow Way with Gil?"  Ah, the Divine is always there, ready to open our minds and hearts to our imagination.... I wonder what else I can imagine?

• My beloved daughter and her loving husband are walking the Way with us.  There have been such easy, soulful, much time for conversation or just silence as we walk together. This presence together may be the most precious gift of the Wicklow Way. Hey, I've learned a new card game, 31 which is always bring back these memories of being together. I wonder how I will create space for such soulful interactions with others, especially with my family?

• Ah, there is so much more to hear, to experience, to let go of, to open myself to... to just be.  Wicklow Way, I embrace your teaching... I want to be a learner open to the Divine and her holy work of transformation.  I wonder what will be next?

Wondering during the wandering...  Cathy