What I will do with the rest of my life is somewhat scary to my human side. And, even my own pronouncements about how to kill fear of the material world are inadequate for the new spiritual dangers that I myself face. But, when I despair, when my material body is weak, when I am confused, when I am placing too much of my own desire into my work, IWALLK one step backward and reach out to the Spark. It brings me the smile of the Universal Parent, strengthens my body, straightens my tangled thoughts, and keeps me from taking myself too seriously.
The world is searching for a prophet, and I am not him. I am just your friend. I am exactly what you are. I've found the Light that touches all things, fills all spaces, and leaves no shadows. YOU will find it too. WE alive today, are the generation that will transform this blinded world. NOW I fully know this. You will know it too, by the time I pass into that same Light. When enough of us have awoken and are ready to see things that have never been seen before, things we can hardly imagine, things we would - at this point - laugh off as impossible; when we are ready to not just believe, but KNOW, that forces are assembling within us and all around us, to bring a New Morning all the way from the other side of the veil, across, into the material world, IT WILL HAPPEN.
That I say these things should not be a great wonder to you. Instead, what should surprise you is how just how hard we make it on ourselves to understand them and accept them. It is so much simpler than we have thought. Two thousand sixteen will be our year to make the choices I spoke of. We must be active in our choosing. In the past I have tried to show you what will happen if we don't make choices. But, now, I'll tell you that a new Presence will be available to you - as it has become to me - to help you choose what is best for all of us. Fear not! Continue to look within, and if you sincerely want peace on earth and goodwill among all people, you will feel this Presence after the first of the year. It won't necessarily be comfortable at first, because it will require you to sacrifice some of your unearned pride. But once you accept this sacrifice, you WILL be comforted, and you will see the way. This is not a prediction. It is not a prophecy. It is simply a fact.
That only about a hundred people will read this post for now is VERY amusing to me. But, as they say, "It only takes one Spark".....
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I woke on this last day at the sleep spot I'd used, knowing that I would not see it again...
Hang in there, little buddy!
A typical vine.
I noticed as I was leaving that, again, I'd been sleeping under an arch.
Mist on the Dog River, where I walked to the sleep spot.
I had one more night to spend in Mobile, but I would have to find a spot closer to the Greyhound station. So I pack up, took one last look at my temporary haven and walked back to Airport Boulevard, where I had spent the entire duration of my visit here. In some ways, I regretted not going downtown and photographing it as I'd done in all the other cities on this leg. But, there were more important fish to fry; my own now-changed, innerself had been (unbeknownst to me upon arriving) the most important thing to accomplish. Now that it was done, taking pictures of buildings seemed a paltry and trivial concern.
I worked at Starbucks, and dealt with the last vestiges of a messy friendship. Then turned my attention to a family matter that broke my heart just a little bit more (as my relationship with my family is sometimes prone to do). I will be referring to this matter in the future, as it will illustrate the power of an assignment to rise even above the loyalty to family members. And, by "loyalty" I mean the supposed obligation to show respect to elders even when they don't deserve it. My work is too important to me personally to play games with loyalty. MY loyalty is to my friends--YOU. Some family members might be friends as well. But my friends have become the only family I now belong to.
It was with a mix of determination and simple sadness that I walked the seven miles back to the Greyhound area of town (Route 90). I had lunch at the Subway on Pleasant Hill Circle, a place with robotic, unsmiling employees, no ice for fountain drinks, and the most disgusting, unflushable toilet I'd ever seen. I could not bring myself to use it, and held my piece--if you know what I mean. Ha!
I was able to piggyback on an Xfinity Wi-fi signal from somewhere close by, and studied the area intensely for sleep spots. There was really only one that I could see, and I knew ahead of time it would be a challenge. It was behind a billboard, next to a churchyard and a tree sheltered street--worth a try.
I walked there and vetted it. Not ideal. But, I would wait for nightfall and see what happens. Going to the McDonald's I first used when I got to town, I sat and studied New Orleans. The place where I will be near is a maze of streets, in tightly spaced, semi-concentric circles, jam-packed with tiny low income housing. I had to sigh out loud. Just because I'd chosen to go to Louisiana, doesn't mean I really wanted to. I am being frugal as the hobo that I am, and wishing for the best, but planning for the worst.
Above me on the wall was CNN, going through its usual looping of "the top stories". I sat and watched Donald Trump call for a ban on Muslim immigrants a hundred times. I won't comment right now on him. I try as hard as possible not to get embroiled in politics here at the blog. My thinking may have political overtones and relevance, but the cesspool of this presidential campaign is only beginning to gather, and there will be plenty of time to weigh in on it in the six months of the next and final Journey. Needing to leave the stink of it all, I departed the restaurant a little earlier than I'd planned.
The stress of the family situation had reached its maximum level of ridiculousness, when I learned that I wouldn't be able to see where one of my closest relatives was--after anticipating a visit for the last 8,000 miles (part of the reason why I'd made Florida a priority), because her husband said he was afraid I'd be bringing fleas into the house from sleeping on the ground. This is the level that the situation had sunk to. In reality he doesn't like me, and is forcing me out of their lives.
There was a lot of strong and unwanted emotion, careful planning, new spiritual motivations and sleep spot concerns swimming around in my head. The emotions were distracting and throwing me off my game. I went back to the billboard area to find a way into the woods and not be seen.
I walked back and forth around the block, and was probably quite obvious in doing so. Eventually, I made my way up the darkened, tree-covered street and used my laser-technique to check for an opening in the bushes that lined the road. I found one and headed in when I thought no cars were around. Once in the woods I saw a car park about a thousand feet down the road. It's headlights were shining in my direction, but I knew that as long as they were on, the brightness of the outside of the woods would obscur my presence there. The headlights turned off.
I had to use my little LED light to look for a level place, venturing deeper into the trees. It was the same kind of leaf litter I was used to in this state, which meant few insects, and basically no spiders. Reason dictates that in a place with nothing for insects to eat, there will be hardly any, and since spiders eat insects, they too should be infrequent residents.
By flashing the LED intermittently I found a good spot, and kicked some trash away from it. Just then I heard footfalls in the dry leaves from the direction where the car had parked. They became louder, and they were obviously human. I had turned my IWALLK t-shirt inside out, as I always do when finding a sleep spot, and I'm glad I did. The large white writing is like a reflector.
Closer and closer this guy came. At first I thought he might be looking for a place to drink a beer or something, but it soon became obvious that he was looking for ME. I crouched next to Saggy with my hat tipped down over my face and waited silently for him to find me. He finally broke through a bush clumsily and was about six feet away, right in the same clearing in which I was hiding. He looked back and forth and then straight at me. I had an odd feeling that he couldn't see me, even though that seemed impossible. He shone his little light in my direction and looked carefully. He was a big black guy, a bit overweight, in a white longsleeve shirt.
I almost said something, but stopped myself. He stepped back, looked at me again, and then continued on past me, searching. Frustrated, he zig-zagged around in an area adjacent to my location. He must have been certain that I was in there. But I sat in absolute silence. He stamped around a bit, and then made his way to the street. I continued my crouching for a good ten minutes afterward. I never saw him walk back to his car, but he must have, since the car passed slowly by on that same street, and then out to the busy highway beyond.
Realizing that it would be foolish to stay in that spot, I strapped Saggy back on and took a different path (actually, pushed through a bunch of bushes) to the highway, by going under the shadow of the billboard. I was not yet convinced that he wouldn't be driving around the block again, so I walked as quickly, but naturally as I could way further up towards a car dealership. The dealership was directly across from another street - McVay Drive - that I'd seen on the map. It led to a Plan B area, that was a couple miles away. That would have to be my new plan.
I couldn't remember what the other street was that led off of McVay, so I stopped by a little dive bar and took out the laptop to view my screenshot. Unfortunately, McVay ran off the edge, but I did see the name of the other street, Halls Mill Road. Pretty sure that they connected cleanly at some point, I crossed the highway and began what I thought would be a long trek down McVay.
Passing another car dealership on my left, and the back side of a very long stip mall on my right, I saw that the woods right next to me was dark. There were no house lights to be seen through it. And, typical of the edges of woods along roads, thick bushes grew. I knew from much experience that more open spaces were always present behind the thick bush wall. I looked for any space I could find to get in there, also examining the bushes closely, afraid they might have thorns. They didn't, and I found just a slight break in the bush wall and knew that going through it I would locate my sleep spot.
In my usual fashion, I stood there pretending to look at my watch as the many cars flew by. Then, when the inevitable break in traffic came (there were no cars in either direction and no one was behind the strip mall), I slipped in between the bushes, and entered the woods. It was quite thick, except for two spaces that would be just the right size for the tent. The first was close to the edge of street. I rejected it out of hand. When I came to the second spot, I found it clear, without any large sticks, nor trash directly on it. It was a great spot. I noticed that the thoughts about my family drama were not present while looking for this Plan B spot. And, correctly or incorrectly, I credited that for my success.
I did my religious ritual of setting up the tent, sitting in it and removing my boots. My socks were really bad, smelling like a combination of ammonia and sourdough. I blew on them to dry them out, which took a while, then pulled out the sleeping bag and my clean clothes bag/pillow.
Settling down and just lying there, I tried to clear my head. A new feeling was waiting for me as the other thoughts faded; like the best looking girl at a school dance, who you don't see sitting against the wall until the other kids have finished dancing and clear off the floor. This feeling was my new link to what I will from here on at the blog, refer to as, the Comforter.
It was still early - only 8:38 pm - but sleep came with amazing efficiency. I welcomed it and slipped away.
Mobile Sleep Spot 4
Great post Brother! I'm finally doing some catch-up. I can relate just not quite down with resting peacefully in it so to speak. I got the quality - but not the quantity ... know what I mean?
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