January 10 26 Newsletter | Take the Back Roads

 This newsletter was originally sent on January 10, 2026

Each month, I share new essays, books, and stories from the road.

📬 Want these updates in your inbox? Subscribe here.

An empty road leading into the fading light, where the horizon meets the quiet promise of the journey ahead

Welcome, Friends, 

to News from the Back Roads!


Dear friends,

The first full week of January always carries a strange weight. The calendar insists we move forward, but many of us are still standing in the doorway, looking back at what was, unsure yet of what comes next.

This week’s essays live in that space.

Between Motion and Stillness was written from a season of learning how to stop pushing without giving up, to recognize that rest is not failure, and that stillness can be a form of movement when the road ahead isn’t yet clear.

Alongside it is The Ariyapariyesana Sutta, an ancient Buddhist text that returns to the very beginning of the search for meaning. Before doctrines, before certainty, before answers, there is the honest recognition that the old ways no longer suffice. The “Noble Quest” begins not with confidence, but with dissatisfaction, and the courage to keep looking anyway.

Both pieces ask the same quiet question:
What do we do when the forward path requires us to pause?

Not every season calls for resolution. Some ask only for attention. For listening. For the willingness to remain present while things unfold in their own time.

If you find yourself between plans, between beliefs, or simply between breaths right now, you’re not behind. You’re exactly where the work begins.

I’m glad you’re here.

a.d. elliott

Art and Other Odd Adventures

Stories Found Along the Way

Between Motion and Stillness: Learning When Rest Is the Work

There comes a point when forward motion no longer feels possible, but stopping feels like failure. Between Motion and Stillness explores that uneasy space, where rest is not giving up, and stillness is not the absence of progress. It is an essay about learning to listen to the body, to time, and to the quieter forms of movement that emerge when we stop forcing the road ahead.

→ Read the full reflection on TakeTheBackRoads.com

Another Book in the Bucket


Book Number 480 of the Bucket List Book Adventure: Ariyapariyesana Sutta Explained

In Book# 480 of the Bucket List Book Adventure, we return to the beginning of the Buddhist search for meaning. The Ariyapariyesana Sutta captures the moment when Siddhartha Gautama turns away from familiar paths and toward an uncertain, deeper quest. 

This reflection considers what happens when dissatisfaction becomes not a failure, but the first honest step toward wisdom.

→ Read the full review on RiteOfFancy.com

If any of these stories offered you a moment of reflection or a gentle breath this week, I hope you’ll share them with a fellow traveler — of roads, books, or life.



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