The other side of that sign says nothing and that land is made for you and me.
Hiking on the other side takes a little initiative to get through the briars but what you find is peace and quiet for as far as the eye can see.
It's amazing that it's still April but it feels like summer and looks like summer with the dandelions growing around. There is no sign to stop the seeds from blowing and even if there was a sign these seeds would go where they blow.
On a hiking day that is the direction I take. I went together with my son today and he kept asking, "Are we lost? Are you sure you know where you are going?" I finally answered, "No. But look over there."
I showed him simple ways of telling where we are at like the shadows and remembering where we came from. He asked me to show him a map. All I could say was, "trust me." Then a few meters later I showed him a familiar trail.
Later he said he felt we were waling in circles. Maybe we did a little backtracking but we got to where we wanted to go.
There was a great view. The problem was that smoke was caused by a real fire on the outskirts of the city. Fortunately no one died although some were hospitalized for smoke inhilation. It's not really what I wanted on my mind while I was hiking but that's reality.
If you are on top of the world there is still a world below you. That never changes the world will always have its problems. They are real problems and real people. Tomorrow will also have its own share of problems. What changes on the mountain is point of view.
My problems of going to work tomorrow and teaching hundreds of fourth graders is not a problem anymore relative to all the problems of this city below me. Instead I'm pretty happy that it is my duty to encourage these kids and plant some hope in their hearts. The beauty is in perspective. You did catch the smoke in the picture?
I'm just now starting to take it in. The picture changes according to the focal point. If our focal point is in the distance then what is right in front of us can often seem blurred. In the same matter if our focal point is right in front of our face then the set up becomes just a hazzy mirage of colors.
The same goes for our life. If our focus is the five year plan or ten year plan we may never get up off out butt. In the same way if every detail gets on our nerves we have no strength to even start.
I have great dreams and start stuff but finish little. A lot of stuff I put on the side and come back to later. But I'm sure if there will be a later for everything.
At the end of the trail we ended at a temple as most of our hikes do end. At the temple we found these paintings guarding the doors. On one hand they seem to be forbidding us to cross. On the other hand they look so funny I think they want us to come in.
The beginning of understanding is perspective and focus. Our daily life and the people we talk to every day are important because these are the things we can do. These are the people's lives that we influence directly. But at the same time we have to take some time to cross over to the other side and look around. We have to climb a little high to get a better view of who we are and what is going on around the world. As we get up higher we see things from far away and get a glimpse of the story from the other side.
The source of the smoke I saw:
https://mnews.sbs.co.kr/news/endPage.do?newsId=N1006294966
This whole hiking trip got me thinking of a folk song written by Woody Guthrie and is public domain today and probably should be.
This land is your land, this land is my land
From California to the New York Island
From the Redwood Forest, to the Gulf stream waters
This land was made for you and me
And I went walking that ribbon of highway
And saw above me that endless skyway
I saw below me the golden valley
This land was made for you and me
I roamed and rambled and followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
And all around meT, a voice was sounding
This land was made for you and me
There was a big high wall there that tried to stop me
A sign was painted said: Private Property
But on the back side it didn't say nothing
This land was made for you and me
When the sun come shining, then I was strolling
In wheat fields waving and dust clouds rolling
The voice was chanting as the fog was lifting
This land was made for you and me
This land is your land, this land is my land
From California to the New York Island
From the Redwood Forest, to the Gulf stream waters
This land was made for you and me
I don't know about you but the lines of the song that stuck with me were these lines:
There was a big high wall there that tried to stop me
A sign was painted said: Private Property
But on the back side it didn't say nothing
This land was made for you and me
There are walls and there will be more walls. There will be red flags and red tape and taxes and regulations and rules and twisted and crooked folks but they can't take this land away from you and me. This song is sung for the decentralized world. Maybe countries can close exchanges and even crack down on transfers but the very nature of decentralized cryto is free. This land was made for you and me.