The Walk of Life

You can take the ‘Walk of Life’ by following the ‘Dam Good Trail’ which commences close to Kirra-Billy Lodge at our little hideaway in Teelah, just North of Blackbutt, Queensland.

To the ordinary observer, the Lodge is but a well appointed tin shed but to those who choose to take ‘The Walk’ it should be seen as ‘The Womb’. Here all is safe; it is warm and protected on all sides and contains food for survival.

In order to reach the commencement of the trail you need to leave the womb and travel up along a defined narrow pathway which leads you into an open area where there is light and a directional sign to show you the pathway to follow. Consider yourself reborn and allow yourself to view the world as if for the first time. It is then you can commence your Walk of Life along the Dam Good Trail.

At first the going is easy; the pathway is defined for you. You look out on the world and see the mountains, the trees and the birds as if for the first time. You marvel at your creation and at that of the nature that surrounds you. As you proceed along the early part of the trail you will be protected from the hot sun by the shade of the trees through which you pass. These represent your adult carers, your family, who watched over you in the early days of your life.

The trail continues and always ‘The Womb’ is either within sight or close enough for you not to fear being alone. You come across poles to walk on, places to hide and rocks around which to play. These are your childhood days. Relive them and do not proceed until you are ready to do so.

A steep step downwards that leads away from the safety of ‘The Womb’ heralds your journey into adolescence where you are required to start making decisions for yourself. There are bends in the trail, rocks protruding along the pathway, uphill battles and flat areas of peace and joy. Also there are rocky outcrops where you can sit and ponder your life’s journey to this point.

Your career and your work call you on. You soon realise to achieve your ambitions you have to sacrifice self. The trail with its bends and turns and sharp hidden rocks brings this message home. Find a point to stop and ponder how you learned from your early mistakes; how you overcame adversity and started to achieve some of your goals.

Your adult life, your adventures, your partners, your children, your friends all provided you with opportunities to develop your own sense of self worth. These are firmly mounted on the canvas of your life. You think of them and those times when they have influenced you or you have loved and supported them as you follow the trail that still has its collection of life’s bends and twists.

It is then you find yourself travelling close to the water. To some it may just be a dam, but try looking at it as that part of your life where you relaxed and enjoyed being who you really were with friends and family you loved. Water, without which we cannot survive, can be used for cleansing the soul. In your mind allow its healing qualities to wash over you to give you a chance to reinvigorate your body, forgive those who have harmed you and resolve to reduce the worry and anxiety in your life.

The trail continues; it is near the barbed wire boundary for now it is heading towards the sunset of our lives. Health becomes an important issue as we age, so the journey is uphill. Perhaps it is telling you not to leave all those adventures you have dreamed about until after retirement for it might often prove to be too late to fully obtain the enjoyment we envisaged.

You meet up with the pathway on which you started your journey. It is called Picnic Point and offers a shaded rocky outcrop on which to rest and review your journey before returning to the safe haven of Kirra-Billy Lodge.

I’m Peter Mack and that’s the way it is.

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