Not only is the path to Peace incremental it’s prone to fogs of confusion. Actually, I’d say the path to anything that matters is fraught with difficulties.

But confusion’s a particularly annoying one. When I was younger, I would too often plunge forward and then spend precious time recovering from my urgency. And there’s something very seductive about the doing and the crisis management.

But wisdom, or laziness, or the increasing canniness of age has taught me to marshal my forces a bit better. Look, it’s foggy. Think I’ll wait until things have cleared up a bit. Might as well have a cuppa or look, there’s champagne.

And then, while sitting, taking the opportunity to visit a bit, just a bit: How are you? “Lovely baby. Where are you going? Oh, you know my Cousin Harry had exactly the same problem…” Sure, you want to exercise a bit of caution, but most sojourners are fine and happy to reassured of their fellow travelers’ humanity.

Make friends — because really, isn’t that the point? It’s disarming in many ways… figuratively as it relaxes everyone, yourself included and literally, as it’s harder to be combative with the folk with whom you were just being neighborly.

Who knows, the people you’re talking to may even know about the road conditions. After all, it is Peace you’re working toward. You want to wind up friendly at the end of the journey, it’s sort of the point. You’ve got to sit and let things unwind anyway, might as well pass the time. Clarity usually arrives and then it’s time to be off again, but now you’ve created new connections with your fellow travelers. Now you’re a confederate of travelers, a community. Again… the point, right?

But in the meanwhile, make nice and enjoy yourself a bit. Start with the noncomittal and build. You’ve little to lose and perhaps much to gain.

Pleasantries make a mighty good walking stick on the Peace Journey.