If you can see your path laid out 

in front of you step by step, 

you know it's not your path. 

Your own path you make with every step you take. 

That's why it's your path.

~Joseph Campbell

 Take to the path--whether it is less traveled or not.  Just take to the path!  This day, 9-11, has been heart-wrenching.  First, there were 9-11 memorial services and then an afternoon a memorial service for a young man of 27 years who lost his life hiking in the most rugged mountains of Glacier Park.  The memory-stories were awe-inspiring as his life ubfolded one last time.  Jake devoured life. He lived more in his all-too-brief  years---packing more into those years than most of us do in a lifetime. He taught us to pay attention to the words of Gibran who said "....the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair."  As I watched the pictures of Jake's life flash across the screen, I could almost feel the wind in his hair as he stood on the mountain top.

So much to learn--to take in from this young life.  Jake, I thank you for the life-lesson you offered all of us.  To grab life by the throat and squeeze everything out of it you can.  We may not all be able to climb the mountains as Jake did, but we all have mountains to climb and miles to go on our path before we sleep. Thoreau said it best "... you (cannot) kill time without injuring eternity.  Don't wait..."Climb the mountains (and hike the paths) and get their good tidings.  Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.  The winds will blow their freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like falling leaves."   
-   John Muir