My family and I just went camping this weekend. Just for a one-night getaway. While there we did all the normal camping stuff, but also no matter the weather we always go for a hike. We love checking out the different trails that the different parks have to offer.
I was reminded during this hike of our first camping trip that we did with my kids about seven years ago when they were just five and three. We went to Presqu’ile Provincial Park, which is on Lake Ontario just this side of Belleville. One afternoon we decided to go for a hike, and decided on their marsh boardwalk.
Both of my kids love birds, and it was really neat to see the different marsh birds, some of which we had not seen before. We started down our path, which started in the forest, and then soon came to the boardwalk. As we were walking we were noticing all the different birds, and listening to the frogs, and looking for turtles. We passed a few people walking the other way, but I didn’t really think anything of it. About half way through our walk, as more and more people were passing us, I realized that we were actually doing the hike backwards. We must have parked near the exit of the trail without realizing it, and just went on our way.
It was a wide trail, a normal-sized boardwalk, and we only passed about 10 people so it wasn’t a problem that we were going in the wrong direction, but it did get me thinking. By walking this way, we were experiencing the trail in a completely different way than everyone else that was hiking that day. We went through the cool forest first, not at the end of a 27-degree hike. We came to the picnic area at the beginning of our hike not at the end. And the flowers, the plants, the birds flying in the sky, we were seeing them from a different perspective than all of those other people who walked passed us. Perhaps we saw some things that we would have missed if we were walking the other way. Perhaps our view of the egret flying overhead would have been obstructed if we were coming from the other direction. But also it got me thinking what might we have missed? Would we have appreciated the forest part of the hike more if it was at the end when we were a little hotter? Would we have enjoyed going up the lookout more if it was the first thing we did instead of at the end of our hike when we were already tired from walking? Was there a turtle that was out at one point but gone by the time we got there?
Our journey is a lot like life. There is no real right or wrong way to go about it. Yes for the most part people travel in the same direction, and there can be some good reasons for it. If this were a hike that had a small trail with some difficult footings, it would not have been good trying to pass people going in the opposite direction. Sometimes in life we do need to all go the same way, it can be why we have laws and policies to help protect us and allow people to try to live a safe life.
But there are some times when we can go in a different direction; we can take the trail backwards. When given that option how many times do we actually do it? Are you someone who will always start at the beginning? What might you see in your life if you look at it from another direction?
It works the same for our spirituality as well. By doing the same thing every week, we do get to interact with God, and see wonderful things that can be at work in our lives.
But perhaps trying something different will allow us a new perspective on God. It can even show us something of the divine that we didn’t even know was there.