LESSONS FROM AMERICA

"You road I enter upon and look around, I believe you are not all that is here, I believe that much unseen is also here." - Walt Whitman, Song of the Open Road

It can be so easy to get swept up in the pressures and dredges of the world, to get lost within our own lives, that we often lose sight of all that is around us, especially the good, simplicity that surrounds us. One sure way to reconnect to the heart of things is to spend some time in what is deemed "the heartland of America." While it may not be a place I myself am inclined to call home, it certainly holds a place in my heart for its ability to hold on to the basic important matters of life. Traveling the open road from Virginia right through the middle of America to Washington I encountered Southern hospitality, small town pride, countless homages to history, moral and family values, strong work ethics, and my own love of varying landscapes. From the refreshing sight of a closed up downtown on a Sunday in Paducah, Kentucky, to the kindness of strangers asking to take a picture of my mom and me in front of the St. Louis Arch so that we could both be in the picture; from the unsolicited yet welcomed car advice from a fellow traveler at a rest area in Kansas, to the home-style cooking at the small diners in Limon, Colorado and Snowville, Utah; the simplest of things have swelled my heart and reopened my eyes to all that is good and right in this country, and in this life. In this season of transition, while I still battle with all that it entails, I'm very grateful for what the open road brought into my life and mind. It didn't hurt any that to top the trip off I was able to partake in one of America's favorite past-times as well.

The heart of America has reminded me that it is the simple things in life that can create the most joy and happiness and I am going to cling to that as I head into this next chapter of life, whatever it turns out to become.