Wander With Intent

Today I am grateful for phone conversations with my sisters and for a weekend that played out at a nice pace.

It seems I have referenced several quotes in recent blog posts. I guess that is what is coming my way of late. As I near 800 posts on this blog, I can tell you that I never run out of ideas to write about, to be grateful. Sometimes it is the little things, the seemingly insignificant things, that lend themselves to the best posts, the best generation of ideas in this writer's little mind. 

Gratitude self-perpetuates. The more grateful my attitude and approach to my day, the more present and mindful I am, and the more I see and notice. Saturday morning my husband Darcy and I were enjoying a "shorter" training run of a couple hours. The weather was ideal and a significant relief from the warm and very humid conditions we had been having. On our community's Mississippi River bridge, a truck in the passing traffic had this sign in the back window:

"Not all who wander are lost." 

Wander is a word that probably conjures up five different ideas in five different people. Some positive, some not. We hear "wander" used in negative contexts like "wandering eyes" or "a wandering mind."  Seeing that truck brought to mind more positive connotations. Merriam-Webster's definitions of wander include: to move around or go to different places usually without having a particular purpose or direction and to follow a path with many turns. 

I can be too purposeful and driven to the point that I get tunnel vision. I may be so determined that the direction I am heading in is the right one that I miss what is not directly in front of me. To wander in my thoughts leads to creativity. To wander on a walk allows me views I would miss otherwise. 

Following a path with many turns may sound difficult and time-consuming. On the other hand, it can also lead to just the change of perspective we needed. Coming to a crossroads or a curve in the road of life is often a time of tremendous growth and learning.

We can wander with intent. I think I will try some of that today.