Tuesday, July 12, 2011

10,000 steps / Uphill all the way home



You've seen this before but not in video. The image is pretty clunky, but you get the idea of the beginning of the path that leads past Scudder Pond and into Whatcom Falls Park. You will hear more birds as I get closer to Scudder Pond, which is to the right of the path. The first 5,000 steps are almost imperceptibly downhill until the very end of the path. It's clearly uphill all the way home.

Still thinking about Buddha's empty hands. The absence that is a presence. And Ayin (nothingness). And Mahalia Jackson singing, "He's got the whole world in his hands."

And walking, not running, on empty.

(In 1965, I was 15. In 1969, I was 19. In 2011, I am 61, which is the best so far. Funny how empty feels full now.)

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love this post. I wish I could leave a comment that was empty, to express my camaraderie.

Loren said...

Wonder why this post just showed up on my RSS feed today?


I think I've been on that same walk when my son went to college at Western.

am said...

robin andrea -- Thank you (-:

Loren -- Good question.

What years did your son go to Western?

Anonymous said...

thanks for the sound of gravel, i really liked it with the birdsong, the crunch i need perhaps. and to see the park, the place where my roommate left my jacket hanging on a tree while he was out with a woman he met.I always picture it still hanging there all these years since. Ha. kjm

am said...

kjm -- The crunch is pretty loud, isn't it? When I'm walking, I don't think I'm making that much noise. Sorry to hear about the loss of your jacket all those years ago. It's not good to be without a jacket in Bellingham. Glad to hear you have a lasting sense of wry humor about the incident. Sounds like a Richard Brautigan scene.

The Solitary Walker said...

Loved the post too. 'The best so far'. Great! Liked the video, clunky or not. Sometimes clunky is better ;)