She walked quite easily and with a great deal more energy than my slow steps. I took note of this comparison because I was in the process of physical rehabilitation—recovery from the auto accident that happened in 1983.
In the days and weeks that followed I often remembered her friendly face and helpful words. I never saw her again, but she became my inspiration to continue the grueling process of regaining my physical strength, and the ability to walk long distances again. After many months I did regain my health, and went on to become an avid hiker in mountainous terrain. It was not always easy, but eventually I achieved the ability to hike with great agility.
Is this not what the spiritual life is like?
Is this not what life is like? I have found that change has been a constant companion in my life, and I have always been willing to experience change. I never liked dead end hiking trails; this always meant retracing my steps. And I do not like dead end trails in the spiritual life either.
In order to discover the real and the true, a person must be willing to investigate, even if this means a dead end. I have had many dead end experiences in my spiritual life; yet I would rather have it this way than not venturing in unexplored directions.
One month before my seventy-first birthday, in the automatic writings of James Padgett, I came upon new information for my journey of faith.
This was like the experience of hiking a familiar trail and coming upon a path that I had never seen before. Did I simply miss this unexplored trail when I passed this way many times before? If so, why did I miss it? Was I so intent on staying on a familiar path that I closed my awareness to that which I found when I was a seventy year-old man?
The new path was not really new—it was only new to me. Other people walked this path before I arrived. This is the way it was for me with the information that called for my attention in the month of April in the year 2006.
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The above is an excerpt from my new book "Climb the Mountain," Chapter 36, pages 145-146. This is my memoir, and will be available soon.
Thank you for reading this.
- Joseph