SAD NEWS

While we fully expected a lighthearted, fun-filled trip, it seems life has other plans for us. The trip we had planned has turned into a disconcerting journey.

Last Wednesday night around 8 p.m. we were involved in a horrible accident that resulted in the loss of a life. While we are thankful that everyone in our family is healthy and safe, we are pained beyond words by this terrible tragedy. We are finding our own paths foggy now with far too many forks. We’re unsure of where and when to turn and if we should stay the course. It does seem clear though that we will gain far more insight from this time than we ever imagined.

We had the pleasure of attending a service at the Unitarian Church in Boulder last Sunday. Rabbi Jamie Korngold, author of God in the Wilderness: Rediscovering the Spirituality of the Great Outdoors and an ex-ultra-runner (yes, even the Rabbis are ultra-runners in Boulder), gave a sermon on Rediscovering Spirituality in the Great Outdoors. She spoke of the clarity that we all seem to find when we head into the wilderness. Perhaps the first thirty minutes we will still run through the laundry lists of our lives, but then things seem to simplify. Our spirits lift and we feel lighter. Each moment just leads to the next and we loose track of time and worries.

We spend so many hours working “out”. It became clear to us during Sunday’s sermon that the peace and clarity that come from being without a computer or TV or phone or car is what we are out seeking. Isaiah, at four years old, already knows this. (Perhaps, he just hasn’t unlearned it!) He will hike for hours and hours. He doesn’t tire or complain. During a hike that included a mile up a steep hill he commented how he loves it here. He loves all the paths and mountains. He even encourages us all (especially Owen) to be quiet so we don’t disturb the animals. How awesome that a kid who abhors even the idea of rest can find peace in the wilderness.

What can a reformed Rabbi at a Unitarian church and a four year old who prefers a day in the woods to a day at Disney teach us about how to find peace with a deadly accident? Well, I just don’t exactly know. It seems there’s something to learn though. I’m pretty sure it doesn’t have to do with a fancy house or a shopping spree or a top-notch job though.  Relationships, empathy, love, respect, and spirituality are just a few ideas that seem to resonate. I guess that’s why we are finding so many forks in the road... there are many paths that need exploring.

Ralph Waldo Emerson writes, “All our progress is an unfolding, like a vegetable bud. You have first an instinct, then an opinion, then a knowledge as the plant has root, bud, and fruit. Trust the instinct to the end, though you can render no reason.” We are following our instinct to continue our travels.  While we cannot render a reason for doing so, we trust that continuing on will allow our own purposes to unfold and eventually lead us to more knowledgeable and fruitful existences.