The Pathway Forward

     Since I was a boy, I have loved those paths in the woods. They are full of wonder and mystery. Forest trails beckon us to explore the unknown, to breathe in what is real and hear the whispers of wisdom on a gentle breeze. Those wooded pathways remind us that we are part of a miraculous web of life. They center and ground us in their beauty and stillness, helping us to reconnect to the simple truths that matter most in this life.
     As the path of a new year and season opens before us, may we step into it as we would an unexplored forest trail, with hopeful expectation for what lies ahead. May we all take a long, deep breath and go forward in a good way, with good hearts. There is beauty in this world. There is light. There is love. There is decency. And there is kindness. I pray that we will all seek to share those beautiful things as we go forward together into a future filled with possibilities. Come my friends. The pathway opens and the forest calls us. Let us step back into the embrace of the quiet. Let us touch once again the soothing cool of the earth, that it may ease our inflamed passions and restore sight to eyes blinded by the fires of rage. May the wooded mysteries help us to see, and focus our newfound gaze upon what is good. For we are sisters and brothers, and we travel this forested pathway together.
     So come my friend, take my hand. Friendship is like music. Some notes work together and some don’t. We must forego those disagreeable sounds in favor of the agreeable in order to be friends. Let us set aside those disharmonious notes, that we may find our way to a song we can all sing as we take the pathway forward into the wooded unknown together.

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