If one really thinks about it, any one particular trail, is never the same.  It's always different and new every moment of everyday.

It could be rainy and cool, or sunny and warm.  A certain flower may be in bloom or a kind of berry ripe and ready to eat.  A whale's spout may be spotted on the horizon.  A tree may have fallen across the trail.  A huge flock of birds may just have landed on the beach.  I think you see what I mean.

Then there's also what you bring along to make it different and new, too.  What you bring for a snack or for a meal along the way can change your experience of it.  Are you hiking alone or with another person, or with a group of people?  Something as simple as which direction you've chosen to hike can really make it a different experience as well.

Another thing that changes the trail is where you decide to go within yourself in terms of the inner journey you're taking, too.  In a very real sense when you're on the trail hiking you're also "psyching" down the trail, too, since your mind joins your body along the way.

I've essentially hiked solo over the years and have just let my mind walk wherever it wants to go when I'm on these long-distance treks . . . and it's amazing where I sometimes go and end up.  It's nice to have that kind of freedom, but I also think that it might be good to have some kind of focus as well.  Something to give myself some guidance, like having a compass along.

A compass, is merely a tool that keeps you going in the right direction.  You're the one who has chosen which direction to travel.  So, I'm thinking that for this trip I'll try out what could be called "flexibility with focus."   I'll take a more intentional journey this time, a more intentional "psyche" down the coast with my mind.

I'm inviting you to "psyche" along with me during the hike, if you'd like to come along for "the inner journey."  Just keep in mind, though, that your not joining me in my journey, but really just joining up within yourself to create your own . . . and I'm just offering you a compass to use . . . you have to pick which direction is right for you.

So, here's the compass.  It's pretty simple.

I'm taking along a list of 52 virtues with me gleaned from the world's sacred texts.  Every day during the Oregon Coast Legacy Hike I will simply choose each morning one or two of them to be mindful of during the day, "follow them," and see where they take me at the end of the day, making some kind of journal entry about them at day's end.  That's it.  That's pretty basic and simple, and there would seem to be a lot of flexibility given whatever virtues I choose to focus on for any particular day.

Another thing I'm working on here, by actually using this particular "compass," is further cultivating within myself the practice of being mindful, of being aware, of what one could call "attention."

And the reason relative to the Oregon Coast Legacy Hike of why I've chosen to focus on these virtues is simple.  It's because I think they these are the kind of virtues that I need to be reminded of and cultivate within myself to effectively establish and develop the kind of genuine relationships I believe will foster the kind of communication, cooperation and consensus . . . and hopefully compassion, too . . . to realize the vision of an Oregon Coast that we all want and can keep for all eternity.

Here's the "compass kit" . . . open them up and have a great journey!     Attention   52 Virtues