No Feeding the Alligators

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The sign says "no feeding or harassing alligators" on the porch of the sweet little cabin at Meaher State Park, Alabama.  Alabama has always been the face of George Wallace for me.  On June 11, 1963, Governor Wallace stood in the doorway of the University of Alabama to prevent two African-American students, Vivian Malone and James A. Hood,  from entering to attend class.  President Kennedy had a show-down and Wallace caved.  The ugliness of that moment still is imprinted on my eye sockets 55 years later.  So, I have been pleasantly surprised by the genuine friendliness of the folks I've met and by the beauty. And, I don't know if the underbelly of racism is still institutionally supported in Alabama. I am amazed, though, that in 60 years of living in the United States, I have never been here.  Though I travel a lot, I've actually seen very little of the US outside of major cities. Makes me curious about what else I haven't seen!  I'm also curious about the next step. I'm going back to the drawing board on what I want/need.  The job, as I see it, is to step into the image and words I want to live inside of -- that I want as the mirror reflected back to me.  This from today's Cosmic Way I Ching reading:  "This line refers to a person who is despairing because he has been on the path of someone else’s truth and has come to its inevitable dead end." I certainly came to a dead end with that RV.  Today, I did feel despair.  This is a strong message to find my own path. But, what is it? I can tell you more about what I don't want than what I do.  But, no matter what, I can't afford despair.