Foggy Roads

What lies ahead?

foggy San Juan island morning road — by author

Does life seem like a fog- shrouded road sometimes? Everywhere you look reveals nothing but shadows and clouds. We tend to like seeing everything before we move forward. Almost a guarantee of success before we even try. We are so afraid of failure and often assume that there is danger all around. But fog can hide beauty until we walk into it. As we walk forward, our vision expands, just like walking forward with a flashlight in the darkness will show us what is ahead.

It takes trust to live. To expand beyond our comfort zones. To believe that surprises can be good and something to be embraced, not feared. But we only see what is ahead if we walk forward. It takes dreams and a vision of what might be to start walking.

I know the road head here, since I have seen the island roads in the clear blue sunshine. I know the blackbirds and the waves that crash upon the shore. And the water passageway between this island and the next one over — Decataur and James — where I once was hiking and saw a pod of orcas swim past. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a camera or even my iPhone with me, so I have no photos — just memories.

I love fog. I remember waiting for the school bus growing up — seeing only the headlights until it arrived at the bottom of our street like a ghost out of the vast white haze. I remember peddling up the hill out of the river fog in Corvallis during my cycling class, my freshman year at OSU. Like clouds on a cool spring day, it seemed a blanket of calm.

Rather than confusion or hiding potential danger, I choose to view fog as mystery, concealing clues to potential treasure or just adventure that would only reveal itself as I stepped forward, believing in the future.

So, today if all around you seems dark or foggy, take a step forward to discover what happiness might lie ahead, just around the corner.