Making strides: part two

This post is written in the present tense. I wrote (dictated) it as I was walking, to capture the moment to moment nature of my thoughts as I moved along the hike. It helped to keep me in the present moment, in case my thoughts got a little too wonky. It’s a different style, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. 

Nature walks really are a metaphor for how we live our lives; we determine how we will navigate through it all. The choices we make, the feelings we have to push through as we make those choices, it’s all part of it. Most of it is hard. The joy and triumph happens when we find our inner strength to push through the challenge.

This is a episode from my podcast A Moment of Mindful Meditation called "Nature Walk". It captures the essence of what I sense whenever I on these hikes. It's less than 15 minutes. Give a listen and tell me what you think!

I’m excited for another cloudy day hike today. I want to test my anxiety level after having the good experience of my outing on Tuesday (Read the first Making Strides post here.). Missing from today’s trek is the actual drizzling rain, so I didn’t have to wear the rain coat which is a little bulky. I’m going into the hike with less anxiety, more excitement, and a spring in my step. I’m walking a little taller, chest open. I feel the strength in my core, supporting my legs and my back as I trek along the trail. There’s a beautiful sense of freedom as I navigate between the tall trees, with the sounds of nature around me.

What a gift it is to have a body that can support the things I want to do. At 51 (They call that middle-aged. I call it bunk.), it would be easy to fall into habits and patterns that create less-than-satisfactory conditions in my body. I’ve worked hard to fight against that. The goal isn’t to actually turn back the years; that can’t happen. It’s to try to stay as pain-free as possible. I have committed to maintaining strength and mobility, so I can go on a 3-mile hike at 8 o’clock in the morning. Like I said, it is a complete gift.

There are already a few more people at the park with their dogs than on Tuesday, even though it was pretty early in the morning. I guess we are the early birds, trying to get our walks in before the bustle of the day.  As I pass the lower lake to my right and it is calm, glassy and reflects a shadow the trees that surround it.

Making choices

What’s really interesting is how, on the same exact path, I can make so many different choices. While I will ultimately follow the same general direction and will arrive around the same time, how I get there remains to be seen. Whether I go to the right or to the left of a tree or which rock or root cluster I’m going to navigate, this is the beauty of the choices that I get to make in the process. I get to choose whether I’m going to stop and listen to the waterfall or continue on challenging the intensity of the work. It’s all a series of choices that, with practice, is so empowering.

When I started coming here, many years ago, I would always follow the same path. Up the paved path to the lake, watch the dogs play in the lake, and make my way back down. Once, with a friend, on the way back, we made a hard right, and went down an unfamiliar trail down to the waterfall. It was a gorgeous revelation of something that had always been there, but I just had no idea it even existed. Over time, I started making small variations in my path, to discover little things that I have never before known about.

This year, on my first return with a friend for the summer, we decided to go the opposite route. After entering, we hung a left, went over the wooden bridge that is usually the landmark that we are nearing the end, and ascended the trail to the waterfall. It turns out, this is my favorite route. Instead of descending the rocky terrain, which always makes me nervous about slipping, I was able to climb up, which is what I love most about hiking: carefully choosing where to step to get to the next level. On my way back down, I want it to be easier, so I can just get back to the parking lot without worrying about slipping and falling.

In about 20 minutes, I have completed the waterfall loop that attaches back to the trail that goes to the top lake. Now, it is mentally easier to navigate. Anxiety, for the most part, is out of the equation.

Staying present

Back at the upper lake, there are once again no dogs. It is peaceful and calm, like the glassiness of the lower lake. In the cloudiness, it reflects a mossy green; not quite as beautiful as the blue hue on a sunny, clear day, but there is definitely something majestic about it. In the trees, I can see where a wispy blanket of clouds grace the top leaves. It’s like I’m walking in Brigadoon. (IYKYK)

As I start the descent I am walking a little slower: it’s rocky and gravelly and wet from last night’s rain. and I really don’t want to fall from being careless. That would be bad. I’m enjoying the slowing of my heart rate after a good climbing workout and the reward is a stroll where I can enjoy my surroundings. I love the sound of rushing water that surrounds me all throughout the descent from the little streams and tributaries that will lead to the gushing waterfall. Here is where it all starts.

I round the lower lake, remembering to stretch my arms as I go. I’m trying to move in three dimensions more to encourage more mobility and less creakiness; I must look like I’m trying to fly away with my Swan Lake impression. Hopefully, instead of looking silly, I might inspire someone else to do the same. After all, people “of a certain age” tend to forget that we are meant to move in multiple dimensions.

Just as I near the parking lot, I decide I want to stay a little longer to finish the full 3 miles, so I find a different path and make an extra loop. Honestly, I could stay there all day, but I do have other things to do. Summer is running short now, so I want to make use of my non-working time well. I also have two kids to get ready for college this year. It is time to pack them up and get ready for their uphill journey.

If you’re reading this, and you are struggling to push through something, I hope this post inspires you to keep moving forward. To you I say GO! DO IT! The end result, whatever it is, will be worth the effort, either in triumph or in life lessons. Perhaps someday, if we cross paths while I’m trying to make a tough decision, you’ll tell me to do the same.