Signs of the Times I

Tuesday, July 25, 2006 ~ Wisdom, Montana

I'm driving south from Missoula, fully expecting to head south into Idaho, where I plan to follow the magical Salmon River Valley. I stop at Lost Trail Pass at 7,014 feet in the Bitterroot Mountains. A few yards south is Idaho and the road to Salmon. A few yards east is Montana's State Route 43, the road to Wisdom.

Figuring I can always use some extra wisdom, I let the car bear east instead of south.

Twenty-six miles later, I enter Wisdom, disappointed that no bolts of lightning have struck me with increased knowingness.

And then the knowingness does strike, with the subtlety that is often wisdom's hallmark.

Wisdom is a reminder of where I already am...when I allow myself to be in it...when I allow myself to surrender into it.

Photo by Mark David Gerson: Wisdom, Montana