MILE MARKERS

We all have many means of recording our mileage.  When training for my last adventure at our parish park, there are mile markers along the trail indicating each and every mile. I never hiked that I did not announce to the group each and every mile marker we passed.



As you wind through the woods you are always aware of how far you have been by the signs along the way.

When I travel to and fro to Texas, the mile markers along the interstate keep me attuned to how far I have been and how far I have left to go.  It becomes a game to count off the miles and watch those markers fly by.




This one turns over my tickle box.

Several of my friends and family have these fancy GPS watches which give them an update on their daily mileage of their workouts.  They then post the information on their Strava App for all the world to share.


We seem to all be suffering from the need to know our exact mileage whether traveling by foot, on a bike, in the water, or in a car.  All cars are now equipped with a Trip Indicator.  What is the deal with our need to know?  


One of the lessons I have learned from my hiking trips is the mileage is not nearly as important as the scenery along the way.  Though I wear a fitbit, I can honestly say I never looked at it to see how many steps I had taken nor how far I had been while hiking through the Grand Canyon.  The breath-taking beauty of the trek was far more important than how far I had been.  What would I have missed had I been consumed with how far I had been instead of the wonders I had passed.

So it is with life, we become so obsessed with our ways of counting  that we miss the beauty of the trip along the way.  How much money am I making, how many degrees do I have, how many people did I see today, how big is my house, how many awards have I received, --how many friends do I have on Facebook, how many hits on the blog were there today--on and on--we are counting to determine how well we are doing.  Sadly we often skip over the important things and sometimes altogether miss them with our obsession with keeping track of the numbers.  


Always thankful for these reminders and I am practicing keeping my eyes open as I trek along this path of life for I am surrounded with the glories of the Lord's creation.

A man’s heart plans his way,

But the Lord directs his steps.
Proverbs 16:9





4 comments

  1. It's true that people do tend to count the distances they have travelled, either by watching the milestones along the way, the trip counter on the car, the Fitbit and other equipment.

    Personally, I count distance by the size of people around me. If they are small then they are a few miles away from me; if they are bigger they are a few feet away from me.

    For example, when I am out walking, I look at the nearest person and then every so often I turn round to see how smaller they get as I distance myself from them.

    Of course, this does not always work if they also start moving. If they walk away from me they become smaller quicker and so mess up my calculations of how far I have walked. If they walk towards me, as if following me, they retain their height and therefore give the impression that I am not walking at all, although I really am. If they walk faster than me and therefore get bigger faster this gives the impression that I am walking backwards rather than forwards. If they get into a shop I lose sight of them and it messes up all my calculations.

    All this walking and looking backwards has an additional disadvantage in that I bump into trees and lamp posts.

    Life can be difficult at times, often, always.

    God bless.

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    Replies
    1. My Monday morning laugh, Victor! Thank you!
      Blessings, My Friend!

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  2. Retirement provides an excellent opportunity to stop counting and enjoying life. I stopped counting in 2012

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  3. "So it is with life, we become so obsessed with our ways of counting that we miss the beauty of the trip along the way."

    That is so true, isn't it?

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Your comments keep my writing and often cause me to think. A written form of a hug or a pat on the back and an occasional slap into reality---I treasure them all!