The way to get clear of confusion and free of sorrow is to live with Tao in the land of the great Void.
Chuang Tzu
When I step onto the pilgrim path I notice a change in the environment, the men, women, children and dogs whom cross my path, and my self. Peculiar thoughts arrive while stepping and striding. Not only thoughts but my actions make me pause, particularly when I greet random strangers with the wai gesture.
The first time I experienced a wai was my first day in Thailand, 2012. I got into a taxi and asked to be driven to my hotel, which was within a half mile from where I stood but because I was disorientated I could not find the way. To my chagrin the taxi driver also got lost and so I reluctantly decided to leave the taxi. As I paid fare and tip, which must have been more than the driver was expecting, he smiled in surprise and gratitude and placed his hands together above his face. Seeing this unusual (to me) gesture gave me a feeling of warmth and happiness.
Using a wai on the streets of Chicago is an oddity because I cannot recall seeing anyone use it, and yet I have used the wai more than twenty times, usually performed without forethought. I do it if it feels appropriate to the person whom I am passing, sometimes it is children, sometimes dogs, sometimes adults. Today at the home-base as I was standing before the icon I happened to notice her hands, which were placed in the wai position. Perhaps this is where it is originating from. To wai while on the path, this pilgrim path which appears real, as real as walking to the office or the 7/11. When on the path I strive to be bold, faithful, expecting and accepting challenges and obstacles. The path is transforming me.