Path to Adventure Or Tranquility?

Copyright by WyoJones. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

For some reason, paths—and pictures of paths—always catch my attention. I totally get why Hansel and Gretel headed into the woods. When I was a little girl and my parents took us up into the mountains for the day (or night—not as fun, IMHO), we’d spill out of the truck and head for the first path we saw.

Paths went up. They went down. They led to outhouses (O.O not fun but necessary), streams and waterfalls, meadows filled with flowers, into the woods, out of the woods—to adventure and exploration.

Paths were possibilities.

Oh, we’d go off the paths on occasion, but off-path explorations often led to dead ends, poison ivy and a higher risk of ticks. Pushing through prickly bushes was not as fun as pelting along a rough path, playing hide’n seek or explorer.

Looking back, I can see that there were risks, even on the marked (some well, some not so well) paths. But because enough people had gone before, there was a path to something or somewhere, a “safe” adventure. Over time, we came to know the paths of “our” mountains pretty well. But these were the “wilds,” so the unexpected happened. Critter sightings and seasonal change provided enough new for inquiring minds. And there was always the risk of a coming face-to-face with a bear.

Now that I’m older, I look to paths for something different. For one thing, anything too steep can be embarrassing after living so many years at sea level. O.O Puffing and panting is not conducive to tranquility. But what I want from a path has changed. Oh, I haven’t completely given up on adventure, but I look at the path above and I see the potential for peace, tranquility and reflection. A place to reset and renew.

My imagination still likes to provide the “adventure,” which is kind of ironic, possibly funny. Because I can look at that path and “see,” just beyond the curve, a plethora of bears and serial killers. As a child, my imagination made my path explorations more exciting. As an adult, I have to remind my imagination that it needs to wait for the writing to strut its stuff.

Clearly, reality has always been a challenge for me. LOL

So what about you? What do you see/hope for at the start of an unfamiliar path? I’d really like to know. And you know I love comments. I enter them into my monthly drawing for an AnaBanana gift basket ($25 value). I announce a winner the first blog post of the new month.

Perilously yours,
Pauline

Paths to adventure happen in a big way in The Last Enemy, which just “came out” in re-designed cover this week:

“Pauline B. Jones is back with another terrific tale that will make readers want to savor each and every line. More suspenseful than her first book, THE LAST ENEMY still contains a large element of humor that really spices up this dynamite novel.” 4 & 1/2 Stars from Romantic Times

Haunted by the death of her child and stalked by a killer, romance author Dani Gwynne wants to want to live long enough to testify.

You can buy this book on sale now in digital or audio!