Questions for a Long Walk

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The story stayed in Pablo’s mind as he walked.

 

It made him think about reviewing things.

 

Not judging everything.

 

Not deciding that everything he had done was right or wrong.

 

Just looking.

 

Looking carefully at where he had been, where he was now and where he might be going.

 

He wondered what would happen if he made a list of questions.

 

Questions about his life.

 

Questions about his time.

 

Questions about what he valued and why he valued it.

 

But what would the questions be?

 

And how would he answer them?

 

Perhaps he could take a long walk along the beach.

 

He could carry his large scrapbook under his arm.

 

When he found a quiet place, he could sit on a stone or an old piece of wood and write.

 

Or he could walk beside the river where it flowed into the sea.

 

He could find a place beneath the trees, open the book and begin.

 

But Pablo laughed when he imagined himself carrying a large scrapbook along the beach.

 

Perhaps a phone would be easier.

 

He could speak the answers into his phone while he walked.

 

Some questions might be easier to answer by talking aloud.

 

Other questions might need to be written down slowly.

 

This he knew was true.

 

Perhaps he could do both.

 

Then Pablo looked at the bowl.

 

He had another idea.

 

He could use the sound of the bowl to begin each question.

 

He would gently sound the bowl.

 

[Singing bowl sound]

 

He would listen and then start talking.

 

For some questions, he would keep talking for as long as the bowl continued to ring.

 

For other questions, he would write until the sound disappeared.

 

It could be like a kind of game.

 

Not a game with winners and losers, but a game that helped him move through different gates.

 

Gate 1: Where had he come from?

 

Gate 2: What was he carrying?

 

Gate 3: Why was he doing the things he did?

 

He could write without stopping and without correcting every word.

 

He could let the first answer come out.

 

Then, when the sound ended, he could pause.

 

He could walk a little farther.

 

When he was ready, he could sound the bowl again and move through the next gate.

 

By the time Pablo left the beach, he had not written any questions.

 

But he knew how he wanted to answer them.