Instructions For Traveling West
First you must dream.
Feel it. See it. Taste it.
Then, you must do it.
Pack your bags and know
you won’t need half of what you bring.
You don’t need much.
One foot in front of the other,
climb into the truck,
And drive.
Only the endpoint in mind,
the rest is all a mystery.
And a beautiful one at that.
Your constants will be trees and
bugs and flowers,
lots of rocks
of all shapes, sizes, colors.
The rest is ever-changing,
ever-moving, ever-evolving.
Not all stops will take your breath away,
but the ones that do will
steal it like a thief in the night.
The pure beauty convincing you that
breathing is no longer a necessity.
The pine trees will stalk you
almost the whole way.
Like a loyal dog.
Friendships are few and fleeting,
full of instructions on where to go
and how to get there.
You listen politely,
knowing you won’t remember
a damn thing,
but the company is nice.
Water will be essential
and she will guide your way.
Searching for sweet springs
and stumbling upon warm ones to soak.
What a luxury it is to bathe
and immerse yourself
in wet blessings.
The blessings, gifts, miracles,
and serendipity
will be endlessly abundant.
Because that’s what happens
when you say yes to life.
It’s inevitable.
Yes you will fall in love
at least once every day.
And you will be
overflowing with gratitude and awe
always, at all times.
There won’t be a single moment
that you don’t feel
absolutely alive.
Bloody scrapes, purple bruises, and
itchy bug bites to prove it.
You are alive
and you are living,
breathing,
exploring.
You are making the most
of this one wild and precious life
you have been gifted.
Cheers to you and
cheers to courage.
Find your fear and chase it
like a mad woman
until it fears you.
And when it turns around
to do the same -chase you-
grab your fear by the face
and kiss it on the lips.
Deeply and passionately.
Make out with your fear.
Fall madly in love with your fear.
Never stop pursuing what you love
and fear the most.
Never.
And when you grow tired of it all.
And your skin is all dried up,
that’s when you decide
to go East, or South, or North.
And for that,
there are no instructions.
Only deciding and remembering
in this one wild and precious life.
