My usual walk to Northshire Bookstore was blocked from the crosswalk in front of Up For Breakfast to just past Christo’s Pizza. A mini-excavator was busy digging out an area just off the sidewalk. I couldn’t see what was in the works through all the traffic, safety cones, and workers; I continued my walk to the bookstore. For my return home, I took another route. It wasn’t until two days ago that I could see what had been done.

An alley connecting the Main Street sidewalk and a parking lot had been covered in stone.

I’m sure I’d glanced at the alley sometime in the last two years, but I’m also sure that its presence didn’t register. What had been invisible to me was now visible – more than that, attention-grabbing.The stone revealed a path not seen before, and certainly not taken.

I keep thinking about this alley path – its invisibility and its appearance two days ago. It has become part of my daily meditation. I’m not yet sure why, but it feels important. A way to navigate the place I call home, a connection that wasn’t mine before, a path where I thought there was a wall. A new way through.

In a time with so much chaos, meanness of spirit, violence, and hatred, I’d like a new way through – a way to peace, kindness, healing, and compassion. It might only be an alley, but it doesn’t need to be a boulevard for me to walk from one place to another.

This is one in a series. Click “At My Feet” above for more information.