Footsteps in the Snow. 32

A path in the white—
Silent echoes, drifting cold—
One step, then another.

Footsteps cross the world in every direction. Some sink deep into the snow, pressed by the weight of time and memory. Others barely graze the surface, light as a whisper, vanishing before they can be followed. It is impossible to know who walked before us, whose breath hung in the frozen air, whose hands once clenched in the cold as they pushed forward. But the snow remembers.

The paths we walk are never truly new. Every road, every choice, carries the echoes of those who came before. A stranger’s journey, a friend’s hesitation, a lover’s departure—all of them leave traces, even if we do not see them. And yet, even as we follow these invisible paths, our own footprints are being made.

We do not walk alone, though it may feel that way. The past does not abandon us, but neither does it define us. The steps we take are uniquely ours, even as they press into the same earth that has carried countless others before. What matters is not where we go, but how we choose to move forward.

The Paradox of Every Step

Birth stands at the beginning, death at the end, but everything in between is unwritten. Each step is both ancient and new, a repetition and an innovation. To walk is to embrace the contradiction—that we are following, and yet we are leading; that we are treading familiar ground, and yet making our own way.

The snow does not hold its footprints forever. In time, they will be erased, covered by new storms, softened by the quiet hand of time. But in the moment they exist, they are proof that we moved, that we lived, that for a brief time, we left a mark upon the world.

1. Every step is new – No matter how familiar the path, each moment is a fresh beginning. Walk forward with intention.
2. You are not alone – The world carries the footprints of countless others. Their journeys may not be visible, but they are there.
3. The past does not bind you – It informs you, it shapes you, but it does not decide for you. Choose your own direction.
4. Let go of permanence – Footprints fade, just as memories do. What matters is the movement, not the mark.
5. Embrace the unknown – The snow stretches ahead, untouched. Take a step. Make it yours.

One step, then another. The wind moves over the fields, blurring the edges of footprints, softening the hard lines of the past. And yet, for as long as they last, they are real. They are proof of passage, of existence, of the quiet defiance of those who choose to move forward even when the world seems frozen.

Somewhere ahead, another step will be taken. Somewhere behind, another will follow. And in this endless crossing of paths, in this quiet dance of movement and impermanence, we walk on.