“Nobody goes off-trail, and nobody walks alone.” That used to be Nori Brandyfoot’s motto. But now that she is traveling with no one but a mysterious wizard, helping him to find his home, she realizes she misses hers. Not the place, of course. For the constantly migrating Harfoots, there is no place. Only people, sharing adventures, journeying together—and those are who we really need to begin with.
One night, she gets lonely sitting by the fire. Thankfully, her new companion lacks anything but wisdom: “Strange…how that which is left behind can be the heaviest burden to carry,” he comments. “I knew it’d be hard,” Nori admits, “but this hard’s different.”
In a famous Zen story, two monks meet a girl who is stuck at a river. One of them carries her across. Back alone, hours later, the other monk bursts out that physical contact with the girl was inappropriate. The first monk replies: “I set her down long ago. Why are you still carrying her?”
Whether it’s someone we want to hold in our hearts or someone we want to forget—the heaviest burden can be that which is left behind. Choose purposefully, and remember that not everything you carry will strain only your back.
