“Between a Rock and a High Place” by Pheonyx Roldan Smith

by

It’s 3:04pm.  It’s April 9th, 2010.  I’m sitting on a couch in and upstairs loft-like space of a local Starbuck’s squarely situated in one of those I-really-can’t-stand monikers of modern American life… a strip mall.

I’ve been reading… a lot.  More than usual that is.  I’ve been pulling from the Everest-esque stacks of books next to the bed, and yanking from the collapsible canvas box that I bought specifically for the purpose the handle the “travelling stack” of literature Hellenic proportions, which like those in the National Library of Congress, seem to be on permanent exhibit in the back seat of my car.

And I’ve been reading a lot online.  Lawwwwwd, have I been reading a lot online.  And unlike the books, everything online has enticing “read more” and  “check out these related links” buttons.   I am imbibed with embedded bits and pieces and trail after ongoing trail of “content related” information, and “to view similar stories click here… please, please, please!?  We love you!”  (Man, I’m a sucker for those ones.)   And as the saying goes… and on and on and on and on.

With so much content now in the world, where and, more importantly, WHEN does it all end?!  But I’m selective about what I read.  Or at least I try to be.  I have my favorite sites and those recommended by others whom I deem as “like-minded” and kindred in spirit.  I’ve also got one of those phones that allows me to receive all my email to my phone which I used to absolutely hate, but was a necessary evil the day of corporate earnings.  But now it serves me as a pre-filtering device so that when I actually go to sit down at my computer, which most, of not all the junk, spam and relatively unmentionables will be already magically removed from my inbox and I can FOCUS on the stuff that really matters… well, to me anyway.

“And what is that really?”  you ask.  Good question.  A very good one indeed.  And the simplest answer I can give you is anything that truly really inspires me to do, be, and/or see more than I ever had before.  Sounds simple, doesn’t it?  And it is… well, sort of.  But then again, not really.

In November of 2007, I posted the first article on this site titled “Where the Elephant Wants to Go”.  In it, I talk about the major transitions points in my life and refer the ongoing battle between free will and destiny as two major players in the life journey.   The analogy very much akin to riding on the back of an elephant and trying to steer it on the journey through Life.  Perhaps the elephant will succumb to your kneeing and cajoling into the direction you so wish to go, but IF and, more importantly, WHEN that elephant chooses to go in its own direction, rest assured that it and all it’s bulk is going to go there, and you just better hang on and enjoy the ride.

Case in point… when I started writing this article it was three days ago.  Obviously, I was deterred for one reason or another.  It happens.  But I was sitting in the middle of a Starbucks around the bend of my condo in Atlanta.  At the moment of this writing, I’m sitting under a canopy of stars at a place called the Hiker Hostel about an hour and a half north of that fair city outside a town called Dahlonega, GA.  I won’t bore you with the details of how I got here.  But only that I’m here and if you had asked me three days ago that I knew I would be here or even why, I’m certain that I couldn’t have told you.

But I’m here now and, and it’s exhilarating.  Here’s what I do know… I’m not one for the status quo.  Never have been.  I also get bored pretty easily.  Always been a challenge.  I also like to meet people.  Always enjoyed it.  Even more so, I really like getting to KNOW people… Who are they?  Where they’re from?  What brings them to this or that meeting place?   And most importantly… WHY???

I’m what you may call a “curious sort” or sorts.  And in the past, I’ve not always embraced that.  In fact, like many of us growing up in our various environments and a very clandestine society, I was also told to mind my own business, don’t ask so many questions, and to not be so nosey.  It would work for a while… but not really.

So, I’m now sitting in a lovely (and it IS lovely actually) Hiker Hostel, which is hosting somewhere along the lines of 10-15 hikers from all over the country about to embark and five to six month hike from Georgia to Maine on the infamous Appalachian Trail.  Nooooo, I’m not taking an impromptu two thousand mile plus journey up the trail unprepared or unannounced.  I’m not THAT crazy!  Well, maybe… but I’m not doing that right now anyway.

No, my journey started this morning with a need to get out of Atlanta.  I call these my “G.O.D or  Get Out of Dodge” days  Just needing to get away and clear my head.  And so I pointed the car north, as I often like to do, and headed towards the Blue Ridge foothills.  I find that the simple act of just getting away from it all begins to clear my mind and opens my soul to greater peace and serenity.

And upon reaching the town of  Blue Ridge, GA that’s where I happen to find a place called the “Serenity Garden Café”.  I just had to smile.  Across from it, a shop called the Anasazi Gift Shop… another little serendipitous association for me.  Again, I just had to smile.  For those of you who have come to know me, I refer to these types of little road signs along the life path of following heart and spirit “white rabbits”, taken from both the famed “Alice and Wonderland” story and the first part of the “Matrix” film trilogy.   A friend of mine also calls them “God Winks”.  I like both terms equally and use them interchangeably.

So, after lunch at the Serenity Café, I asked myself, “Ok Self… where to now?  Do we stay or do we go now?”  Self readily responded with a “Go deeper… how about Dahlonega?”  And so we went.   The drive is beautiful.  Long and winding roads up, around and down the Blue Ridge foothills.  Radio off, phone on silent, windows and sunroof open the whole way.   I could barely hear my thoughts, which was a good thing.  In fact, I wasn’t thinking much at all.  Just being.  Just observing.  Just smiling.  Just appreciating.  I had achieved at least one part of my goal at least.

Along the way, I pull over off onto an over look at a place on the Appalachian Trail (the “AT”) which was also a break in the trail called “Windy Gap”.   I turned off the car and allowed myself just to reflect on the beauty of that place.  There was a guy sitting on the back of a pick up truck with several coolers around him.  He was reading a book.   “Hmmmm… I’m curious,” I thought to myself.   I told you I was a curious sort of sorts.  So, I struck up a conversation…

“Waiting for some friends who are hiking on the trail?”  I ask.

“Yes, sort of,” he replies with a friendly smirk.  I make note of the of the Georgia University baseball cap, his recently sun-soaked face, and “military MP” tattoo on his ankle.  We chatted up a bit about the trail.

“I’m Roldan, by the way.”

He gives me his name, which I inadvertently forget.  That happens.  He’s hiked the full length of the trail.  A “hike through” is the official term for it.  I admit that I haven’t done the full trail but only parts of it during my many trips up to the area.  Then I ask him if he has an official trail name, as I know well enough that it’s a tradition for those who have extensive experience on the trail to adopt a trail name.  “Aquaman,” he laughingly responds, and proceeds to tell me how the name came about.  Now THAT I’m sure to remember.  =)~

I enjoy the conversation.  I ask the various questions as to what it’s like to hike the full two thousand plus miles.  It’s all very interesting to me.  I’m always intrigued by the stories that people share about the great adventures of their lives.  And then he explains to me that he comes to this spot on the trail to hand out bottles of Gatorade to the hikers coming off the first twenty miles of the trail at that very point as a little gift of encouragement.  A reward of sort.  A boost, if you would, for the first leg of the journey.

I could have spent the rest of the day there talking with Aquaman, but the rest of my day’s journey beckoned me.  So, we shake hands and part ways.  I smile and think to myself how much I do enjoy meetings others on this amazing trek through life, knowing that there are many that I may never see again, but all the more grateful for the interaction and inspired to keep pressing forward.  And you just never know…. The Universe has a mysteriously wonderful way of working, and perhaps one day our paths will cross again.  Perhaps if I ever end up taking the big long walk up the AT one day Aquaman will be there at the Windy Gap cross way with a bottle of Gatorade and a word of encouragement along the journey just for me.

Meanwhile, I hop back in my SUV and head towards Dahlonega for some dindin…

To be continued…

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deep gratitude and namaste,  Pheonyx

Category : by Pheonyx (Articles), Humanity, Travel
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