Nel mezzo del cammin...

Ché la diritta via era smarrita.

The following quote came to mind after I made this drawing. It wasn't there at the time, or maybe it was lurking and I was unaware. Not unusual. It's a prickly one, and at the same time curiously appropriate. I'm sure we can all relate to it in some way.

Dante's Inferno - Canto 1

Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita
mi ritrovai per una selva oscura,
ché la diritta via era smarrita.
...
Io non so ben ridir com' i' v'intrai,
tant' era pien di sonno a quel punto
che la verace via abbandonai.

When I had journeyed half of our life's way,
I found myself within a shadowed forest,
for I had lost the path that does not stray.
...
I cannot clearly say how I had entered the wood;
I was so full of sleep just at the point
where I abandoned the true path.

A long winding story full of hell through many circles of doom and gloom. By the end, though, Dante recognizes he's in a hell of a rut and sees that it's probably a good idea to move on. He has some hope and finds a kind of purpose - and vicariously there's a ray of hope for the human condition. Not a bad outcome for so many circuits through the Hell Realm.

May all travellers...

More benevolent perspectives on places of unexpected change come from other domains where change is recognized as the only constant. Where a trail ends a new path can begin, and perhaps it's one of our own choosing, and perhaps it can be made with lightfooted steps in a sun-speckled forest...

May all travellers find happiness wherever they go
without any effort may they accomplish
whatever they set out to do

And as they safely return to the shore
may they be joyfully united
with their relatives.

H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama

A beautiful wish and blessing for all travellers and wanderers along their inner journeys through the speckled woods.