The Walk - Time, Trust, and the Gift of Simple Goals

After a month of traveling—first to Ireland for a writing retreat, then to the Walk of the World—I’m finally back home, walking in the woods near where I live. And as I reflect on those weeks, one thing keeps returning to my mind: how deeply different life feels when you simplify.In Ireland, I had one goal: write. During the 4-day walk: just finish each day’s 40 kilometers.No multitasking. No racing the clock. Just presence. And strangely enough… I learned more during those four weeks than in the whole year before.Here’s what stood out:When you give your mind space, reflection happens naturally.Friendships grow faster when you're walking side by side, not online.Aging doesn’t mean losing purpose—it’s an invitation to live it more intentionally.You don’t need to meet all your goals to know you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.I used to plan ahead in big leaps: where I’d be in 10 years, what I’d accomplish. But I’ve come to see that fruit grows when I focus not on the harvest, but on today’s seed.And like the sower in the parable, I’ve learned that it’s enough to simply sow. Whether it bears fruit is not up to me. What matters is that I walked, I wrote, I rested, and I trusted the time given to me.Maybe that’s the invitation for all of us. Not to rush ahead. Not to cling to the past. But to ask: What can I do today with the time I’ve been given? Get full access to Father Roderick at fatherroderick.substack.com/subscribe