Walk This Way...

On Sunday afternoon, a friend of mine agreed to go walking with me. We had planned on checking out the golf course at Swannanoa River Rd and Fairview Rd. I noticed a perfect looking paved concrete trail amongst the golfing areas, and wondered if it would be a perfect, convenient place to walk. So, my friend and I met up and started our walk, and were gushing over how beautiful a place it was, and how long the paved pathways were. There were geese and trees, and lush green grass everywhere. It was exactly the kind of walking environment I have been searching for. I commented that it seemed too good to be true, and I noted that nobody else was walking on the path, and I wondered if we were supposed to be there. But, we kept going for several minutes. Both of us noted later that the guys who were golfing kept giving us looks, but I thought maybe we were just really beautiful in our workout outfits, that they couldn't help but stare!

Well, about 20 minutes into our walk, a man greeted us and informed us that walkers were usually prohibited from walking on the property due to safety issues. My friend and I said we were wondering about that, and I told him that the course seemed like a perfect place to walk so we thought we'd try. We finished the conversation, and then quickly started cutting across the green to go back to our cars. I was so disappointed. Of course, the perfect walking trail is illegal! I joked that we were rebels as we left the golfers to happily go back to their sport and not be bothered by two women trying to get healthy.

So, since I had walked the blue trail near the visitor's center on the Blue Ridge Parkway a couple of days before, I suggested we go there instead. So, we resumed our walk on the wooded trail. Both of us raved over the beautiful woods and all the interesting logs, moss, and textured bark on the trees. We had a splendid time chatting, and got in a great workout.

This is just one more example of what any creative process entails. Sometimes when I am creating an artwork, I think things are going great, and then all of a sudden something happens where I feel like I've ruined a piece, or a medium or tool is not working the way I want it to. Then there is a moment of disappointment and feeling like the piece is going to have to be thrown away. But, with a little imagination and the willingness to be flexible, I usually can take the artwork in a different direction and make something beautiful out of it. That is exactly what my friend and I did with our walk on Sunday. We had a moment of, "uh-oh" and then had to think creatively and instead of giving up and going home, we chose to walk in a different location, and in doing so, received our reward of a pleasant experience.