Tag Archives: hiking

Balance Beam

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One foot in front of the other. Arms steady at the sides. Measured breaths. Prioritized focus. The courage not to fall into the familiar.

Are the toil and tax needed to maintain a modicum of balance worth the spoils gained? Is it better to stumble of our own accord than feel the stings and shoves of familiar foes? Can courage and careful planning stave off the inevitable slide? What’s waiting on the ground to cushion that collapse?

We are in the midst of an elusive, slippery chase to level the playing field while the referees are busy rewriting all the rules. Absent of regular water breaks or rest, we continue to trudge up a mountain of optimistic possibility, burdened by weighty shoulder sacks heavy with hope but empty of real results.

When will white flags be flung? When will the cramps and sore muscles force us to abandon our quest for equilibrium? The straw has been accumulating on this camel’s back for generations and there’s only so much he can carry.

But what’s the alternative? Acceptance of constant misalignment? Feeble acquiescence and shoulder shrugging? Downcast defeatism?

I think we’re better than that, and nothing of any historical consequence was accomplished by abandoning the fight or vacating the arena.

So strap up, strap in, and tighten your resolution. Some seconds are still left on the clock before that buzzer signals the end of the trial.

Balance is infectious and attractive. The more we cultivate internal peace, the greater our ability to spread its merits on a global level.

Time to get back to climbing. The mountain is waiting.

Adolescence Interrupted

Closing a Door to Open an Exit

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I suppose I’m boarding the bandwagon by looking back at the last twelve months, but there’s a reason it’s a popular pursuit.

We like to quantify our existence through measurable gains or losses. It’s a tool to see where we’ve been and to plot where we’re going. Without some definable roadmap, we tend to wander. One day bleeds into the next, and we’re left looking for the missing months and disappearing days. But I’m not so sure that’s a bad thing.

There’s an argument to be made on both sides. Adhering to an unforgivingly regimented schedule that leaves little or no time for friends, loved ones, or creative pursuits is probably as detrimental as a life spent sinking in the quicksand of financial worry or health concerns.

Money is made and money is lost. The loop of hope and disappointment continues to spin. But what’s the big picture purpose?

I do know that as soon as health is compromised, everything else takes a distant back seat. Whether it’s the physical or mental well-being of those close to us or own bodies rebelling against our neatly-laid plans, there’s no backburner for pain…at least, not the real stuff.

On that note, I can happily report that regular work with my energy healer/acupuncturist, Jennifer, has transformed my life. There were far too many days this past year when death seemed like a viable solution to neutralize the agonizing torture that migraines inflicted on my body and mind. I was yards past the end of my rope, as anyone who had a conversation with me about the topic can attest.

The residual damage of that kind of extended trauma is still there, but every week I move closer to regaining some sense of security and a slightly tighter grip on the leash of this unpredictable beast. Awareness about how we’re wired and why our brains decide to embark on dark excursions of their own design is like a spotlight in the eyes of Gremlins. They prefer to do their work in the shadows, so it’s up to us to bathe them in light.

I will continue to carry a boulder-laden backpack of uncertainty about my overarching path and purpose, but I am finally starting to take that hike without looking for falling rocks at every turn.

One heavy-booted step at a time.

Okay, 2018…I’m ready to walk.

Adolescence Interrupted