Finding The Foothills

My last post here, was about finding a way, a path, through the mountains we encounter in life. This post is about finding the foothills that usually proceed the actual mountains. They are often difficult, but passable. They might slow us down considerably, but they can also help as to learn new ways to pass through that landscape. In that other post, I mentioned that I had begun finding myself doing things differently, even praying in a new way. And it is the result of that new prayer process that has gotten me to these very present foothills.

The photo above, is of the used desk I found and then purchased on Craigslist, before moving into my new two-bedroom apartment. I had a one-bedroom before, so I had my puter set up in that room and it was a bit claustrophobic. I’ve always wanted a home office and this was an opportunity to see that reality come true. The desk, which had to be moved in several pieces, is quite large and definitely holds the predominant space in its current position. It took my brother-in-law, my nephew, and his friend, a couple of hours, to move all the pieces and then set it up here. And they repeatedly told me that I best be sure this was the exact space I wanted it in, because once set up, it wouldn’t be moved again, until I moved to a new address.

Once I had the puter set up and the printer in place, I began to really like the office I had started to create. And that’s when I began to create those foothills I mentioned above. I have been writing for almost forty years. That’s a lot of words, and a hell of a lot of paper. And I have a tendency to make piles around me, rather than getting up and properly filing what I’ve worked on. That’s because I have spinal stenosis and a lot of up and down movement causes pain filled nights of tossing and turning.

It was my intent, that when I moved here, I would finally finish the Poetic Memoir I had started before the move. I have three filing cabinets, two are regular office sized, and one is a shorter version. I used to make hard copies of everything I wrote, but stopped doing that several years ago, when I realized I might actually drown in paper, or be in grave and serious danger should a fire start. I took to using outside storage apparatus to keep track of all of it. Now, most of my stuff is here on the internet, and I simply don’t worry about that aspect anymore.

But, finding the material for the memoir, meant digging into those filing cabinets, and I did. And began piling up paper, on my desk and every other flat surface in this room. More to the point, I also do a lot of digital and physical art work. And that is never really finished until I can hold a printed out copy. More piles. And now my dream home office has become the foothills of my current landscape.

The new prayer process I am engaged in, is called Intercessory Prayer. One chooses to intercede for a specific individual. But, it is done in a very specific manner, which I won’t go into here, except for the pertinent part to this post. A very important aspect of this prayer process is to daily find a point of connection between oneself and the individual one is praying for. That results in removing judgement from the prayer itself. It’s far easier to forgive another if one has to first seek forgiveness for not so great, or not easily recognized, and finally acknowledged actions.

The person I am praying for often leaves messes behind, expecting others to clean them up, or straighten out any misunderstandings. I looked around me and saw only the foothills I have created for myself. Instant recognition, and the need to undo what I, myself have created. I have cleared off half of my desk surface and will continue to do more of the same after I finish here.

I have always believed that we are far more similar than different. By directing ourselves to those differences, we create foothills (sometimes mountains) in our own paths. Differences can create huge walls, mountains that separate us from not only others, but from ourselves as well. The point here is not the prayer process, but the lesson to be learned from that aspect of the process. If we take the time to relate to others, recognize that we are all human beings under whatever skin we are covered in, we create a healing energy our world desperately needs right now. Love, in the form of acceptance, can and does conquer foothills and mountains, smoothing the path to that better world we all long for .

Save

Save

Advertisement