Here I stand at the end of this path, with half a life time of memories behind me, gathering like water behind a dam. The path to this point has wound through familiar grounds, places that I know well and love dearly, each holding memories both dark and joyous. Despite the familiarity of the places I have been the road has been anything but smooth and safe to travel. It has had many unexpected turns, blind corners and holes into which to fall and I have experienced each of them. Each one has left its mark on me, small but indelibly scribed into my very being, each one changing what I was. On their own these little ‘marks of the road’ are insignificant, barely even noticeable, but when accounted for collectively they have battered, torn and marred every inch of what once was.

Now here I stand at the end of this path, looking onward into a new life. Daring to hope. Hope that I will find adventure, life and friendship along the way. Hope that I can leave behind all the pain and bitterness gathered along my previous path like dust gathered on a weary traveller.

However, before I can set foot on this new path there are things that need to be done. My ties to the past, the ties that keep me anchored here need to be let slip. The emotional knots that have chained me so, need to be severed and released. Most importantly I need to wash myself of all hurts and marks from the past, so that I start on this new road fresh and clean and with a buoyant heart.

Some of you will already know that I am planning a little adventure, a journey out into the world. A journey I hope will end on distant shores with a new life.

I plan to head out into the wilds of the world in July next year. The count down has begun. . . . . . . . .