For The Traveler...

                                                For the Traveler

                                       Every time you leave home,

                                       Another road takes you 

                                       Into a world you were never in.

Each evening, we are blessed with the miracle of the glorious clouds… 

and the miracles of the setting sun. This is Mount Maude. Speaking of miracles:
 if you ever come across Mt. Maude Pinot Noir, buy it! The grapes are grown right below the mt.

                                       New strangers on other paths await.

                                       New places that have never seen you

                                       Will startle a little at your entry.

                                       Old places that know you well

                                       Will pretend nothing

                                       Changed since your last visit.

We've hiked to Rob Roy Glacier at Mt. Aspiring Park every year we've been to Wanaka. It is awe-inspiring.

A new place that has never seen us!
A nice cheese plate with a glass of Wooing Tree Beetle Juice Pinot Noir lived up to its 2012 award winning standards. 

                                       When you travel, you find yourself 

                                       Alone in a different way,

                                       More attentive now

                                       To the self you bring along,

                                       Your more subtle eye watching

                                       You abroad; and how what meets you

                                       Touches that part of the heart

                                       That lies low at home:

Our eyes are mesmerized by the waterfalls at Rob Roy Glacier.

We are attentive to the glacier, the clouds, the waterfalls, the mountain peaks: All are touching our hearts.

                                       How you unexpectedly attune

                                       To the timbre in some voice,

                                       Opening a conversation

                                       You want to take in

                                       To where your longing

                                       Has pressed hard enough 

                                       Inward, on some unsaid dark,

                                       To create a crystal of insight

                                       You could not have known 

                                       You needed

                                       To illuminate

                                       Your way.

The other evening, our neighbor Pete came running over and beckoned us outside and pointed up in the sky. There was excitement in his voice.  We looked up and saw this most perfectly-formed feather cloud!
We're still talking about that beautiful cloud. 

                                       When you travel,

                                       A new silence

                                       Goes with you,

                                       And if you listen,

                                       You will hear

                                       What your heart would

                                       Love to say.

"People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child — our own two eyes. All is a miracle.” -Thich Nhat Hanh

                                       A journey can become a sacred thing:

                                       Make sure, before you go,

                                       To take the time

                                       To bless your going forth,

                                       To free your heart of ballast

                                       So that the compass of your soul

                                       Might direct you toward

                                       The territories of spirit

                                       Where you will discover

                                       More of your hidden life,

                                       And the urgencies 

                                       That deserve to claim you.

One of life's simple pleasures claiming us from the seat of our couch!

                                       May you travel in an awakened way,

                                       Gathered wisely into your inner ground;

                                       That you may not waste the invitations

                                       Which wait along the way to transform you.

Invited on an early morning climb up to Mt. Roy. "Yes, I'll be ready at 6:15 am!"
Invited again after a fortnight! "Yes, I'll be ready again." Although I'm not a morning person,
hiking uphill for 2 hours in the early morning hours does awaken one to the wonders of our world.

                                       May you travel safely, arrive refreshed,

                                       And live your time away to its fullest;

                                       Return home more enriched, and free

                                       To balance the gift of days which call you.

                                              

from… To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings

Thanks to my friend Barb for sharing this special Traveler's poem with me. 

Whether you are traveling far or near your home, this poem speaks to all of us. It reminds us that our natural world can awaken us  and refresh our minds and bodies to new possibilities each and every day. 

Enjoy the balancing act of life,

Mary and Bob