Far & Away

When I see men, women and children portrayed as ‘heading west,’ there’s a moment my mind goes to: “Where did they come from?, Why would they choose to leave hearth and home?, What are they looking for, Do they actually know where they’re headed?, Are they following a rumor…or words of hope from a stranger?.” I can only imagine the gamut of emotions played out in the souls of those who walked west…looking for a new start. Do they know that every part of their resolve will be questioned and that every individual’s mettle will be tested to the nth degree? I ponder those that crossed Death Valley (and died with dried black tongues), got caught in an early snowstorm (and ended up freezing to death), or attacked by Indians to find their end on a nameless naked prairie (carcasses staring at a cloudless sky). …..and then there are those that made it to the so called ‘promised land.’ Now what? A four month rigorous venture ends with winter arriving and no place to live. You Fell trees, attempt to build a cabin, dig a well, face droughts, give birth without a doctor, watch locusts eat your crops, have your livestock come up lame, have your nearest neighbor live 10 miles away, fend off beasts or outlaws. Where do I sign up!? I close with, what power there is in the dreams of ‘possibility’ that make people take action! To wake up believing there is better, more, abundance, something different than what they have somewhere else, and being willing to pay ‘whatever’ the price to have things be different and praying they are joined by others willing to pay that same price. As I sculpted this piece, there was a phrase that often played in my mind: “Faith in every footstep.”