Take a Hike!

Lisa and I went hiking in a city park on the north side of town in an area on the edge of the Texas Hill Country. The park, located on the side of a wooded hill, had several interconnecting trails with different degrees of steepness and difficulty from smooth pavement to steep rocky climbs. We stayed on the main trail that had a nice mix of both. The day was sunny and warm, but without the oppressive humidity we have had most of this summer. It was a great day for a hike, even though we both had too many things to do back at the house.

I brought my walking stick and we each carried a bottle of water. We left our lunch in a cooler back at the car for later. It felt good to start out on the wooded trails. Lisa and I used to hike at Starved Rock State Park back in Illinois before our move to Texas. We had been hoping to find another place to walk and hike in nature down here. As the trail grew steeper and rockier, we could catch glimpses of the surrounding hills through the trees. The scenery was just beautiful. We could hear birds calling in the trees overhead. The traffic noise from I-10 had faded into a strange peaceful quiet.

I do not think there is anything that can connect us to nature in such a primal way unless it is a walk along a deserted beach as ocean waves cash on shore with seagulls crying overhead. Being alone and immersed in nature allows us to shut out the noise and clatter of our modern world with its loud cell phone conversations and screaming children in strollers and replace it with the rustle of leaves and the sounds of bees.

At the end of our walk, Lisa and I found a picnic table in the shade and enjoyed our lunch. There was a cool breeze under the trees. We knew that we had finally found a place that could thankfully connect us to that peace and quiet only found in nature. So when life gets to be too much...go take a hike! We did.
FOOD for THOUGHT...

Remembering Our Blessings

I was heading into work the other morning on the number 32 bus. It was a typical morning commute. I felt the bus lurch at every start and stop along the way. The voices on the bus were a mix of Spanish and English. Many of the riders were high school students heading to class. The air conditioning felt good that morning. It was already hot and humid outside. I normally pass the 18 minutes it takes to reach downtown San Antonio by reading the paper or my Smithsonian Magazine. It was one of those mornings when my glasses were sure to fog up upon leaving the bus.

When I exit the bus at Navarro and Commerce, it is only a short, three-block walk to the Alamo. That morning I decided to walk a different way. It took me up a street that I normally bypass. As I walked up this street, I glanced to my left and saw a homeless woman lying on her side asleep. She was behind a pillar, near the entrance to a building. She looked old and frail. The woman appeared to be clutching what I assumed were her worldly possessions, tucked into her stained blouse. I passed silently and continued on my way, but her image was haunting me. I offered a prayer for her safety and asked that her needs be met for this day.

I see the homeless in San Antonio from time to time. I see them on the streets and at my bus stops and occasionally passing through the Alamo. Each encounter makes me feel sad, like I should be able to do something for them, but then, selfishly, I feel gratitude that I have a home. I have a place to sleep at night. I cannot even begin to imagine living on the streets alone, being old with no place to call home.

In our “land of plenty,” it just seems wrong that anyone should be homeless, but it happens. Too many families are just one paycheck, one lost job or one foreclosure away from a life on the street. I have truly been blessed throughout my life. Yes, there have been hard times, but I have always had clothes on my back, a roof over my head and enough to eat. I have always had family and friends.

Perhaps God needs to help us remember our many blessings now and then.

FOOD for THOUGHT...