What Really Matters....

"Nothing can bring you peace, but yourself."- Ralph Waldo Emerson

So, today, I finished hiking Hadrian's Wall. Considering how frustrated I was Wednesday, this was not necessarily a forgone conclusion. Today, despite the pelting rain,  was a grand day, most notably for the fact  that I walked without being in hideous pain for the first time on this journey. I have eaten a whole bottle of motrin, all 100 tablets, this week. At times I considered snorting them, shoving them under my skin, and maybe tucking them up my other end, just in case it could be more readily absorbed this way. To finally have my body accepting that this hike is going to happen, that I have a whole nother country to walk across, is such a gift. (Not that it feels GOOD yet, lets not be hasty....)

So here is what matters, lesson-wise, so far:

*It's often easier to go uphill, than down.
*Stop and look back.
*Small kindnesses matter! The lady who brought my drenched, sorry self a cup of hot tea from her home today, while I waited two hours in the rain for the bus. The Irish fellow who refilled my water bottle a long way from nowhere. Les, who took me in for a night when I couldn't walk another step, even though his hostel was closed. The farmer who returned me to the trail after I had strayed a goodly distance. Joan, from the Quaker meeting in Carlisle, who took me home for a lovely home cooked lunch Sunday afternoon. Just dozens of pleasant, cheerful, helpful people along the way, too many kindnesses to name....
*Good boots. No other part of my body is dry, but my feet are. (Thanks, Dad & Mom.) Good walking poles too. (Thanks Corla!) If for no other reason than when you are laid out flat on the ground, you can sort of pull yourself along with them. Or at least use them to pull small, shiny bits of trash closer to you so you have something to look at while you suffer.

I had hoped for dramatic changes and insights into my life as a result of this trip, and I expect the results will be more subtle, but already, I see some clarity and purpose to my return home in October.
Open your pubs, Scotland!!!!! Ima comin'!