the trail was the way,
and it said to us:
“come, and I will provide.”

“come, and I will give you my walls,
the mountains to be our fortress
protecting us from the distractions
and this will be our classroom.”

“come, and I will teach you about people.
incredible, beautiful people.
whose faces and hearts reflect my alpine glow
and whose cracks exist so their own light may shine through.”

“come, and I will remind you how to be a kid again
and the things that matter:
to play, to laugh and to create
and the lessons we were once taught but often forget:
to share, to give and to love.”

“come, and I will teach movement.
that no matter how many mountains we climb,
bridges we cross, or rivers we fjord,
there will always be the next
so may we rest here a while.”

“come, and I will instill in you discipline.
that whatever storms the universe bring us:
the wind, hail, sleet, or snow;
we will not waiver for we are called to walk.”

“come, and I will show you passion
and how it is not something to be sought
but follows us wherever we go,
surrounds us in whatever we do,
and has lived inside us always.”

“come, and I will offer pain
that our lows are there to test us.
that soreness and discomfort disguise themselves as growth
pushing us to grow stronger and preparing us for the next step.
that in every moment
we have only as much as we can handle
and if we’re being given it, we’re ready.”

“come, and I will teach the human body.”
and how grateful we are to occupy
such a truly adaptive, amazing and alien-like form
and that the most valuable nourishment we can receive from one another
is touching and feeling, loving and being loved.”

“come, and I will reveal to you the mind.”
and how it is its own enemy
that tells us stories
of ‘we aren’t enough’
or that ‘we aren’t loved’
but eventually, has no choice
to give way to the truth.”

“come, and I will surrender my nature.
know how it’s a reflection of the beauty inside you,
evidence of how powerful we all are
due to its laws,
the interconnectivity of the universe,
the spirit in all beings
and the beauty and mystery of everything.”

“come, and I will teach time
and how it’s really meant to be
measured in miles
and that if we have the time,
any distance is walking distance.”

“come, and I will teach dreams.
that anything in this world is possible if we wish it be
and so long as we are taking steps on the path
eventually the destination will be reached.
that much is inevitable.”

“now leave, and be grateful.
use these teachings and may you grow in every moment.
remember and forget them again and again
and know that although it may seem far away,
the trail you see here exists within us all
unseen for good reason
because if you could see it,
how much less magical would it all seem?”

–David Smart (April 23, 2016)

Book coming 10/17.