Monday, December 31, 2012

A NEW YEAR, HAT ON HEAD, BOOTS ON FEET



                                                    As the year concludes—
                                                    wanderer's hat on my head,
                                                    sandals on my feet
                                   
                                                                  Basho

Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe.
           Anatole France 


         Not all who wander are lost.

            J.R.R. Tolkien

Never did I think so much, exist so vividly, and experience so much, never have I been so much myself—if I may use that expression—as in the journeys I have taken alone and on foot.

                                                        Jean-Jacques Rousseau


                                           
                                            We are the music makers,
                                            And we are the dreamers of dreams,
                                            Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
                                            And sitting by desolate streams;
                                            World-losers and world-forsakers,
                                            On whom the pale moon gleams:
                                            Yet we are the mover and shakers
                                            Of the world for ever, it seems.


          Arthur William Edgar O'Shaughnessy 


This is a great moment, when you see, however distant, the goal of your wandering.  The thing which has been living in your imagination suddenly becomes part of the tangible world.  It matters not how many ranges, rivers or parching dusty ways may lie between you; it is yours now and for ever.

Freya Stark 


Half the fun of the travel is the esthetic of lostness.

Ray Bradbury


                     Early one morning, any morning, we can set out, with the least
                     possible baggage, and discover the world.

                     It is quite possible to refuse all the coercion, violence, property,
                     triviality, to simply walk away.

                     That something exists outside ourselves and our preoccupations, 
                     so near, so readily available, is our greatest blessing.

                                                     Thomas A. Clark
                                              from "In Praise of Walking"


Happy New Year to my treasured blogging friends!  May our paths continue to intersect, here and elsewhere.


25 comments:

  1. That is a gorgeous montage of photos. To walk beside those streams, across those fields and along that path, would be so wonderful. I think I'm getting the urge to wander, just a bit... Happy New Year, George!

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  2. Yes, TERESA! By all means, continue wandering. What better way to enter the New Year!

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  3. Being a wanderer, I love all these quotes. People criticize the wanderer a lot and I always wonder why they have such a problem with it because to me it is a life full of continued promise.

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  4. yes George, let us live a year of exploring and discovery... with good results. we hope to.
    Happy New Year!!

    ... I very much enjoyed your photos from the last few posts, so well composed, simply beautiful!

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  5. Thanks for your comment, RUBYE JACK. I think Tolkien has the perfect answer for those who are suspicious of wanderers: "Not all who wander are lost."

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  6. Thanks for your lovely comment, GWEN. Yes, to be an explorer, an adventurer, a wanderer—it's the only way to make this journey and learn anything along the way. Happy New Year!

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  7. The words and photos you post are always most inspiring! The world needs more wanderers like you!

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  8. Thanks for your generous comments, WANDA. Happy New Year and Happy Wandering!

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  9. Looks like your intentions for the New Year are set, George! Looks and sounds very enticing.

    May 2013 hold a variety of rewarding adventures for you. Be well.

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  10. Good to hear from you, BONNIE, and thanks for the comment. May the new year bring the very best for you and your family.

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  11. I love the Tolkien quote. It is possible to come to wonderful things through the process of wandering. And it gives me approval for my post-retirement life style, in which I do NOT start every day with a goal and a plan.

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  12. Thanks for your comment, BLISSED-OUT GRANDMA. Glad you found something of value in this post. Go wandering, get lost, and have a wonderful New Year.

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  13. Came by to wish you a splendid 2013, George, with just enough adventure to keep you on your toes! All these wanderer quotes - another trek planned for the New Year? I hope so!

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  14. And a Happy New Year to you as well, BARB. Yes, I hope to be wandering somewhere, somehow.

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  15. Happy New Year George - and here's to many fantastic walks in 2013.

    I'm determined to get up to Scotland to bag a Munro or two (haven't done it for ages) but you know what happens to new year resolutions...

    That We Are the Music Makers quote takes me back to playing in Elgar's setting of the poem about 37 years ago. Oh well, tempus fugit.

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  16. George, it is a very beautiful thing that you re-establish the original harmony by walking across this world of ours. It is a privilege to be your witness and even share the journey, in spirit. A big Happy New Year hug to you!

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  17. Thanks, DOMINIC, and Happy New Year as well to you and your family. Keep following your heart and feet, whether the path takes you to Scotland or just around the corner. Every day holds immense possibilities!

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  18. Thanks for your lovely comment, RUTH, and a very Happy New Year to you and your family. I don't know if we can ever completely re-establish the original harmony that once existed between man and the universe, but it's something, I think, that instinctively calls each of us. I'm inclined to think that most of the world's cherished spiritual words—"salvation," "enlightenment," "awakening," "nirvana," etc.—simply point to the "original harmony" of which Anatole France speaks.

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  19. Even when my knees begin to tell me that my wandering far days are drawing to a close George, I still find it enjoyable to wander short distances and to wander a long way in my mind over all the wonderful places throughout the world that I have seen over the past forty years. Happy New Year to you.

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  20. Happy New Year George! May your boots take you to many more wonderful places.

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  21. That's the spirit, PAT! Wander physically where you can, and when all else fails, use your memory to wander all of those lovely places you've been in your life

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  23. And Happy New Year to you, ROWAN. May you also wander through beautiful places in the year ahead.

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  24. George -- Basho, France, Tolkien, Bradbury and more. What a lovely post full of "trails." -- barbara

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  25. Thanks for the lovely comment, BARBARA. Happy new year and happy trails to you!

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