By A friend at school loves to make lines with a snowplough; anyone coming to the university wearing only socks can recognize when someone has made tracks with wet boots inside Park Hall; and I have a niece who loves to make families of snow angels in lines. This afternoon I hope to snowshoe in the woods around Dominion Hill, the retreat centre I am at for the weekend; next Saturday, I hope to sink my toes in white sand on the North coast of the Philippines. It seems like God made us able to make tracks for a reason… looking behind at the trail I’ve made in the snow, I receive affirmation that I am here and present; I have physically made a difference to my past.
These weeks leading up to our trip to Asia, we have read a lot of books, written a lot of book reflections and reviews, and listened to a lot of lectures: I am beginning to think I know more of South East Asia’s History than Canada’s. As I read the stories of these nations over the years, I often wished I could change the path that they were heading in; I could see where the trail was leading and the events that would eventually perspire. Western Colonialists have left footsteps in SEA and can look behind them to recognize their presence and the reality of their actions. Sometimes corrupt national leaders have risen in times of upheaval, their steps only leading to tragedy.
We are about to embark on another adventure that will be leaving a trail, and I guess I’m a bit anxious about the path we’ll make and the tracks we’ll leave behind. I’m scared that I don’t have the cross cultural know-how to make good decisions, that I won’t know when to trust and when to be wary, or what parts of my character that aren’t globally appropriate and which of my many idiosyncrasies are. I feel like I will make a lot of mistakes, and I’m nervous about how many confused – or even worse: hurt or distanced - looks I’ll get! I want to learn as much of the language as possible, be risky enough to ensure that I live consciously, and love new friends freely. I want to leave behind no regrets: a trail of relationships that both reach beyond and embrace cultural differences, experiences that enrich the meaning in my life, and a stretched world view, transforming the goggles through which I interact with my experiences.
But for now… I’m going snowshoeing 
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2 Comments
I just read this quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson and thought of your blog:
“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail”
When I first read this blog, no name came up identifying the author. But I remember thinking,’I wonder if Nicola wrote that?’ Jonathon had told me what a talented writer she is!