Backpackers

Backpackers

As I usually do, I stopped off at the market on my way home from work. It was Saturday and I knew there would be slim pickings. The semiweekly order the store receives is not sufficient to take care of the needs of the town. They order just enough to partially fill the shelves. It reminds of what happens to stores when a disaster or powerful storm is approaching. 

People empty the shelves. 

The sad part is, this is the only store in town and the menu is take it or leave it.

The locals know the best stuff is in the cooler and most of us bypass the shelves and go straight for the cooler. 

Tonight I watched as some backpackers looked at the slim pickings and picked the best of what was left. I told them to follow me to the cooler where we might have a better chance of finding what we were looking for.

As people do, we started talking. 

They spent the last few days camping down the Escalante River. They felt the weather shift decidedly colder and wanted to find a motel for the night.

I felt an immediate kinship and invited them to come home with me where they could get warm, take a shower and find a warm bed.

They accepted.

David and Stephanie are walking across the country with backpacks, experiencing what few of us dare to do.

Their packs are light, weighing less than 20 pounds and yet they had all the essentials, food, water, sleeping bags, cooking and eating utensils. I was amazed that they could travel so lightly.

They had already traveled thousands of miles, walking and depending on rides and the hospitality of others to provide them with the things they needed.

They were on a walkabout.

I listened with great interest as the stories poured out detailing the adventures and the miracles, the people and the lessons they had learned along the way.

I watched as they spoke with emotion, animation and sincerity with each new story.

It reminded me of my own adventures and I felt even more of a kinship with them.

David and Stephanie met on the trail and agreed to share their journey for a time.

David has walked many thousands of miles from Canada to Mexico and California to New England.

They shared insights from the most amazing people.

They met other backpackers along the way and discovered some were professional men and women who escaped the system that many of us are still trapped in.

They along with David and Stephanie could no longer serve corrupt masters who profit from the suffering of others. 

Their devotion to higher principals led them to give up fortune and fame to find peace and serenity. 

They follow their hearts as they travel along the many trails of life.

Life offers us many choices and each of us make decisions based upon those things that are most important to us.

I left the daily 8 to 5 grind years ago and chose a path that gave me freedom to pursue interests that were spiritual in nature.
Many of my family and friends are still prisoner to a mortgage and the loans that provide the latest car, boat, clothes or RV.

Secretly I know that some long for the freedom and adventure of the open road but they are fearful of loosing the material things that they fought a lifetime to acquire.

It’s a sad legacy to be a slave to the material things of this world.

In the end we can’t take them with us. Those things that we thought were most precious are usually discarded and wasted by family and friends after we are gone.

So ... what is it that we really want out of life?

What’s holding us back from achieving true happiness?

Fear?

Yes, sadly fear is the reason that most of us use to resist the urge to follow our heart.

But you say, “I don’t have a choice!”

  I say, “You always have a choice.”

This life is all about choices. 

After two wonderful days of sharing, David and Stephanie announced it was time to leave. I watched them as they walked down the road, wondering what new adventures they were soon to encounter.

I know they will be safe and find exactly the kind of adventures and lessons that will challenge and add to their treasure chest of memories.

I know that because ...

The choices we make today mold and shape our tomorrows.

Aloha nui loa were the words I heard them speak as they left. 

It means: 

I give my love to you.

You give your love to me.

Good journey David and Stephanie ... Blessings along your way ...