A Word to the Wise...

On my recent trip to the Pacific Northwest, I went to Mt Rainier and then drove back to I-5 and found a hotel to crash in for the night (roadside hotels, don't get me started...ugh!). The next day was my last day before flying home and I was planning to drive up to SeaTac (where the airport is located), get a hotel for the night (or as much of a night as I would get...flight out was at 5:15 am), and then drive into downtown Seattle and check out the market again.

All went according to plan the next morning, I checked out and hit the road heading north to SeaTac on I-5. That's when something unexpected happened...I took an exit. I saw a sign for a state park and, for some reason, I found myself getting off the interstate. As I was driving the 2 - 3 miles to the park, heading down a 50 mph two lane highway that just happened to be deserted, I came upon a deer just standing at the side of the road looking at me. I slowed my car to a stop and looked at the deer...and the deer continued to look at me. Then a fawn came out of the woods and joined the adult, which I now took to be its mother. I looked at them and they looked back at me as if to say, "Hello! Glad you could make it." As soon as I picked up my camera, which was sitting on the passenger's seat, both deer ran off into the woods. It was after this somewhat surreal experience that I really started to wonder why I wasn't still heading north...why had I taken that exit?

I continued on to the park, got out of my car, and proceeded to walk around. It was the kind of park that I LOVE! There was a forest of big, fragrant pine trees with trails running through it, campfires were permitted so there was a scent of woodsmoke in the air, and right in the middle of the park was a beautiful lake...Deep Lake. I wandered around, just absorbing and enjoying all of the sights, sounds, and scents...and taking lots of pictures, of course. My wanderings took me past a multitude of picnic tables scattered throughout the woods, but I kept wandering. A few hours later, I decided I wanted to sit and read in this beautiful place, so I continued through the woods until I came to one of the tables. As I sat, I looked down at the table and there, scratched into its surface was a message. It said, "Call everything by its name." So, I put my book away and sat there contemplating this message. Soon I was pondering life, the universe, and everything...and my place in it.

It was at that point that something, which had been building all during this trip, came to fruition. At a random picnic table, in a park I wasn't supposed to be at, sitting next to Deep Lake, staring at a mysterious carved message, I found me...and more amazingly...I found I love me. That's right, flaws, issues, and all...I love me. Still sounds corny saying it (or writing it in this case), but its true and, while not much time has passed since, my life has already been changed for the better because of it.

While I'm still not sure what that message means...I do have some ideas, but still not sure...one thing of which I am convinced is that it was specifically meant for me.