proteanme

It continues to snow. In fact, it’s snowing here like nobody’s business. And dark. Dark as all get out. I walked around for a good chunk of the afternoon out in the elements. Trudged is maybe a better word for certain stretches. But I had good company, so it didn’t seem like trudgery. On the way home the flakes were big and thick and about half way here, the sun set on me. Walking in the in the middle of the road in twilight, with snow piled up everywhere I turned, it felt like it really meant something to just get home. May be it always does; it’s just today I noticed.

One of the things I love about Portland is that it is possible to have a walking life and a walking life opens up the door to reflection and contemplation, to negotiation with the elements, to the possibility of more human contact, and the chance to notice the details of landscape. A walking life opens up the door on isolation, even if it’s only making eye contact with the guy coming the other way across the street. A walking life has really saved me these last two years.