The hike of life

The trail is more than simply a path.
It is a metaphor for life.
It has all the ingredients

A beginning
Painful challenges
Ecstatic accomplishments
Rocky up hill struggles
Flat smooth strolls
Controlled descents
Unfortunate mishaps
Exercise and down time
Opportunities for enlightenment
Hard won drudgery
Long-term goals
Short-term goals
Successes
Failures
An Ending

I felt my heart’s blood
Slam
Into all four chambers
So loud
I heard nothing else

I rested in stillness
So calm
My skin responded
With the goose bumps
Of a ghost’s presences

I revel in companionship
Of shared experiences
All of us repeating
It is only pain
There to be overcome

I became an observer
To my thoughts
Moving in and out
Of conversations
With myself

I explored answers
And questions
Hidden in the chaos
And monotony
Of real life

I sang songs
Real and made-up
Created completely new lives
For myself
My friends
My family

I let the wild places
Surround me
With unpredictable circumstances
Centered its potential to kill

I found answers out there
I recharged my spirit out there
I felt worthy out there
I felt powerful out there
I felt vulnerable out there
Most of all
I felt ALIVE out there

The trail is more than simply a path
It is a metaphor for life