What's it all about?

Many thoughts have come to mind since Springtime's trip. In all, my pony and I covered about 6,200 miles for me to re-acquaint with portions of family and many friends. Memorable, too: meeting new and new-to-me additions to that circle.

Time slipped by like the miles, and I wondered what the trip really was about. A desire to see the circle of family and friends in their settings with their spouses or new members was nearly tangible. Longing, too, for a break from winter's short, often grey days; the ice that made a walk, sometimes even to the car, treacherous. Winter had not quite finished. Leaving open a possibility to turn back if age made physical driving too difficult or a complete change of mind took place was, in its way, freeing. And so, the trip began.

During long drives on our nation's highways within the solitude of a vehicle, reflections take place that belabor description. If you've been there, you might already know. If not: it's just you, the road ahead, the landscapes, possibilities, sometimes perplexities. It's a trust that with a few sensible measures, you'll be okay even if it doesn't go well, or as intended. That trust opens sensibilities to a larger framework at play. Awareness, in some traditions. God's presence, in others.

Famously said, “You can't go home again,” came true a little past the middle of the trip where my journey paused at the southwestern town that I left behind two years ago. It remains a beautiful place with the dearest of friends, but I found my reference points of place had shifted. A desire to live there was absent. What remained was a desire to see as many friends as I was able in the few days there.

Afterward, I set out on the road again in the sunshine of southwestern skies and friends; this time in the direction of Pennsylvania with more visits in mind along the return road. As my pony Subaru and I left the desert southwest, my past receded in the rear-view mirror.

Back in Pennsylvania a couple of weeks or so went by and I began to see a new intangible; a sense of being. A gold-edged, sunset cityscape with a full moon rising behind it; the commuter train into Philly; expert, friendly directions from passersby; family and friends' greetings; swirls of possibilities that hold more than a lifetime of discovery to be explored were all around me just waiting for me to look.

Then two dear friends from that distant home I've left behind made a special stop in Philly to see me on their way to Boston. Greeting them as we met in Philadelphia felt like all the world was new again.

I am home...and that is what the trip was about.

So, I am “growing where I am”, as a friend here has said. I'm aware that you who have followed this during, or joined in along the way these two years have created in me a love of connection. It is a wealth that weaves through everything. In that way, you have helped me as I undertook this adventure to new beginnings.

With thanks and warm thoughts from me, Toby and my pony Subaru...

...a mis familiares y amigos, nuevosy viejos