Monday Inspiration: Meandering Along

I have always had a love of meandering along pathways, especially if I don't know where they go. It's fun to see where it takes you.

I spent a summer in Canada with my aunts, uncles and cousins when I was 13. My Uncle John had a farm with woods on it. I spent many hours wandering along to see what I might find. I discovered huge toadstools, ferns, a broken fence covered with moss and a rock large enough to lay on in the sunshine and daydream.

That summer we went bike riding on a dirt road, and found wild blackberries, a lovely old church and even a bear cub. The latter scared us so bad for fear it's mother might be lurking around that we rode home the 8 miles so fast I think we set a record.

On this last trip to Montana, my Mother took us to Reeder's Alley. (Shown above.) It was a very old, lovely little winding walkway that led us to hidden shopfronts. Unfortunately the shop we most wanted to go into was an antique store called Cinnamon Toast, and she had a sign on her door that said she was away at a show. It was still fun to peek in the paned window and see what treasures lie within. We also discovered an old mining shack behind it, and a tiny place to get drinks that had a huge walled lawn in the back with tiny chairs and tables to enjoy your iced teas and sodas.

Even in Tokyo when we went shopping, the main street was fun and we found an amazing shop filled to the rafters with enough exotic buttons, beads and ribbons to make any bear artist's heart happy. As intriguing as that shop was, it was the alleyways crammed with tiny establishments that set my mind soaring to new heights with flights of fancy as to what they might contain.

Even online, I still like meandering along. I found a blog tonight when I was searching for something that was interesting and had lovely pictures. When I was done perusing her posts, I decided to click a link she had posted to another blog from her list...that led me another link from that blog and so on. I followed the links until I finally hit a shop instead of another blog and decided to end my journey.

As I traveled along virtually, I gained inspiration just like I do on any real trek. Sometimes it's fun to just follow an unknown path, deciding which fork in the road to take as you go along...and just let fate lead you where it will. The discoveries make those trips memorable and inspirational beyond measure.