Hiking Stick

I have always loved sticks and stones.
I seek them out, pick my favorites and being them home.
My collection of rocks and sticks has grown since moving to Oregon.
Walking the beach or hiking the mountains presents more opportunity for new discoveries.
Thankfully my family is good enough to tolerate this strange attribute of mine.

Recently I have been bringing home driftwood off the beach to make my own hiking sticks.
 I have made hiking sticks for most of the family.
I know if I am to continue this new hobby then I will need to find an outlet for my hiking sticks.I can't just continue stockpiling them in the corner of the garage.

For me, a hiking stick is a useful tool, something that simply helps me stay upright on a steep path.
It helps me feel more sure-footed whether that be going up a steep incline or down a steep descent.
Being a flat lander from Kansas, I seem to lean on a hiking stick, if not physically, then certainly emotionally.
I feel a little more secure on a narrow trail hundreds of feet up a cliff overlooking the pacific ocean when I have a hiking stick in hand.
Hiking sticks have been around for centuries. In folklore the hiking stick, or staff, represented the tree of life and was thought to be somewhat of an axis between heaven and earth. they believed the staff lended support and aided one in direction and gave intensity to ones energy.
Some say it was a link to our spiritual energy.
Still others indicate a journey staff  would keep the magic in our lives alive on the journey through life.

In scripture, Mark 6:8 it says, "He told them to take nothing for their journey except a walking stick--no food, no traveler's bag, no money."




Steppin' out with DWNTWN
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Sedgwick County Zoo

This morning was a zoo day at Sedgwick County Zoo for me, my Grandsons, daughter & husband, and my mom.  The 3 year old clearly ran circles around us and I loved watching him burn energy knowing it would ease the long drive home for my daughter.

I made the long 5 hour trek, 311 miles door to door drive, from our home in Kearney, Ne to my childhood home in Wichita KS too many times to count.
And making that drive with little ones just makes the trip seem that much longer and adds a handful of grey hair to my head of hair too. 
But I don't exactly have words to express how wonderful it is to know and watch my daughter grow older, and more comfortable coming to her grandma's home, the home where I grew up, all on her own.
It truly is a circle of life feeling.

 


Steppin' out with DWNTWN
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