Almost every morning, I walk along the shore. There is a well-marked, and well-trodden, path. and there is this place where the trail has been closed and a new path laid. I don’t have any idea when the old path was closed, but I can imagine that for those who had been walking this path for a long time, this detour was unexpected, and perhaps unwelcome. The old path borders the cliff, and is considerably shorter than the new path. it probably took a few days for the walkers and runners to adjust to the sudden turn in the path. Because it’s not just a gentle bend but a more than 90 degree turn.
The path we have been walking is no longer open to most of us. We need to get used to this detour. There are some who want to go under the ropes, ignore the sign, and go the same way they’ve always gone. Two things about that. One, that puts those who must still be on that path in greater danger. You know, the “essential service” providers, many of whom in normal times are underpaid and overworked and now are underpaid, way overworked, and putting themselves at risk to provide these “essential services.” And two, it keeps us from experiencing the blessings of a new way.
The sudden turn in this seaside path turns away from the ocean, providing views of the dunes where there are plants and flowers and birds and bugs. I often find myself surprised at what I see. A heron. A snail. A bright orange flower. Things I would not have seen had I gone straight on the old path.
As we walk a new path, rather than focusing on the views we used to enjoy and grumbling about how the old path was better, I hope we can be alert to the new things we are seeing. What new things are you seeing today?