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There is a restlessness that never leaves my bones, an ache that irks me like a toddler pulling at my skirt. “Mommy, Mommy” she whines, “Come play with me!”
One day, feeling irritated and fidgety I sat down to meditate. Asking for guidance and direction, a voice in my head said: “Go get your book A Course in Miracles.”
Standing on my tiptoes, I was able to pull the book that I’ve read on and off for years from the highest shelf of my bookcase. Like a deck of tarot cards, I fluttered randomly through the pages with my eyes closed. On page 339 of the student handbook, I read: “The world you seem to live in is not home to you. And somewhere in your mind you know this is true. A memory of home keeps haunting you as if there were a place that called you to return….”
With this explanation for my restlessness, I felt relief. My constant heartache of wanderlust seems to be a voice reminding me of the heaven from which I came. The words were nudging me to get out and experience nature, the closest place to heaven here on earth. God is in the air, water, fire, and earth, the four elements essential to life. The place where I feel most at home is on the Appalachian Trail.
And so we seek!
My thirst for adventure is insatiable at home, which my husband knows all too well. With his blessing, I’m excited to walk away from the concrete jungle that is Dallas, Texas, to go play out in the woods. When I set foot on the Appalachian trail, it will be the first time in my 50 years of life that I will be free to live on my timeline. I’ll make my own decisions, learn who I am, and find my truth. The toddler in me knows that the first steps are going to be a little tricky. Heck…she’ll probably fall on her face a few times! But my soul knows that at this special moment I have no other choice but to explore this heaven on earth.
Original post here.
Martin Rutte
