Paths

“All paths lead nowhere, so choose one with heart.” –Carlos Castaneda

I saw Gary Snyder speak in Marin last night. He shared stories about Mount Tamalpais, the largest mountain in the area where I live. He also shared the above quote. Kind of a grumpy old guy, with a clear, booming voice.

He mentioned travelling to Mount Hiei near Kyoto, Japan. He learned of monks there that would make a thousand-day ascetic mountain pilgrimage, walking repeatedly along the paths of Mount Hiei. He came to find, in further travels through Nepal, that peoples there had a similar tradition of mountain pilgrimage. Circumambulation of this nature now occurs around Mount Tamalpais.

I began to imagine a walk I might take. My heart flew to the Sandia Mountains in Albuquerque. Perhaps I’ll start by heading out my door, here in the Headlands.