Go Beyond Your Fears

Alligators, snakes, and turtles, oh my! I love to kayak! This is a love I share with my Adventure Sister, Emy, as well as with my husband. It is an activity that is infectious and when I share it with others, I soon hear they are shopping for a kayak themselves. It is a lovely way to experience nature by gliding smoothly through the water. I feel as one with the kayak and close to the nature all around me when out paddling. Now that I am spending more time in Florida, I want to be able to practice this peaceful activity all year round. After all, kayaking season in Minnesota is a bit short.

One day, as my husband and I were traveling the backroads in Florida, I was looking longingly at all the little streams and rivers that were just waiting for us to kayak through them. I looked at the grassy banks and thought, I wonder if the Alligators bother the kayakers. Hmmm, I had not considered that this prehistoric looking critter might pose a treat. I calmly did , what I do when I have a question like that, I pulled out my trusty phone and researched it. It turns out that if you don’t bother them while kayaking, they wont bother you. What a relief!

So what else might pose a threat? Well, another possible problem with kayaking in Florida is the snakes. There are 4 poisons snakes here and unlike Minnesota snakes, they don’t stay on the ground. They get up into the trees. I have heard stories of them dropping out of the trees into boats. Ick! Although I am sure they fall out of the trees at times, perhaps due to a strong wind, I am guessing they do not intend to fall into boats. It really seems like it would be a bad plan on their part. I wonder if these stories are more for the “thill” factor of watching the listener’s eyes widen than anything.

So my husband and I purchased a second hand tandem kayak. We tested it by paddling down a stream with overhanging trees. It was a lovely paddle. Everything was so green and there were beautiful purple flowers along the shoreline. We did see some reptiles on our paddle in this lovely place but it was just was a big turtle and a baby turtle, sunning on log.

So often in life we hear stories or thoughts occur to us of all the: “what if’s”. What if the snakes would have been raining from the trees? What if they gators were hungry and aggressive? I read in a book once, many years ago, “Why walk, we might fall?”. We can stop ourselves from doing anything if we let our fears become larger than our dreams. If you truly want to live the life of your dreams, you must boldly push beyond your fears. I am not saying be careless, but do some research. Check the facts. Have a plan to counteract the “what if’s”. And then go fo it! After all, the only reptile on your battle may be turtles!

Thank you for reading my blog today. I love you. I wish you the life of your dreams, today and everyday.

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Daily Meditation – week 1 check in

Here is my check in from my first week of daily meditation practice. With the first 7 days, of the 90 days of daily meditation behind me, I am excited to share my experiences with you.

Experiences during the week: My first week of daily meditation was full of business. The first few days I was trying the various apps but as the weekend approached, I had to pause, as I had a gathering and Mother’s Day to prepare for. When I meditated at first, it seemed that it was one more thing on my to do list that had to be taken care of. However, once I took the time to do it, I felt better. Even calmer and more centered. There were a couple of days where I laid down at night, only to realize I had not yet sat in peaceful meditation for that day. One those days I tried meditating in bed while laying down. I made a discovery; when I meditate laying down, I fall asleep! Probably not my best plan. Over the course of the week I tried the apps with their instructional meditation. I listened to several guided meditations and I also sat in quiet mindfulness meditation. I found I personally prefer the silent meditation. Although guided meditations can be quite powerful, at times I found them distracting.

What I learned: My favorite time of day to meditate was first thing in the morning. I especially enjoyed it when I could do it near an open window, so the sound of birds and the wind chimes in the backyard would float in on the cool morning breeze.

My weight: I am on the road for the next four weeks, so I do not have access to my scale. I will be unable to share a number with any weight changes as a result of this. After the first week, though, I do not sense any changes in how my clothing is fitting.

How I feel: As I write this morning, I feel calm. The to do list of tasks to get taken care of doesn’t seem to be pressing down on me the way it does some days. I feel hopeful in all situations (which would be a great mantra to meditate with).

How it’s affected my life: On the morning of Mother’s Day, my husband and I went outside to discover that our fire-pit patio table had been stolen. Although it is disappointing and frustrating, I felt as though I was able to maintain calm and sent out a plea that everyone send love and healing to the thief. People who have healthy balanced lives do not hurt others. This act is a reflection of pain and poor self-esteem of the perpetrator. When I have experienced previous violations like this, although I still sent loving kindness to the violator, I also had a fair amount of anger. On this occasion I had no anger. Is this a result of my daily meditation practice? I think so.

Thank you for reading my blog today. How was week one for you? Please share your experiences with us. As I go forward I will stick with these same five areas. Are there any other areas you would like to see me include in my upcoming weekly check-ins? If so, let me know. I wish you a lifetime of hopefulness in all situations.

Previous meditation blogs by the Adventure Sisters: Join Us on This Adventure, Meditate the weight away?, 9 ways to improve meditation, Meditation contemplations, There’s an App for That: A review of meditation Apps, 7 Common Meditation Myths, 11 Types of Meditation

Don’t Give Up!

Yesterday my husband and I hiked a very difficult trail. It was rated as moderate to difficult. It has been a cold and snowy winter in Minnesota and we have been hibernating . We have not done our usual 10,000 steps a day, but instead been watching TV (which is a rare thing for us to do). Our fitness level is not what it has been over the last couple of years. We have a never say die attitude though and believe that there is nothing that we can’t do. So we took this and applied it to Rattlesnake Ledge Trail.

Rattlesnake Ledge Trail is a 4 mile round trip trek up a mountain. You climb up 1,175 feet of elevation to a view point that overlooks the Rattlesnake Lake. There are many switch backs that make the climb not as steep as it once was. This is not to say that it is an easy climb any means. There were spots along the trail that were so steep it was almost more like climbing a ladder than walking on a trail.

It’s a popular hiking trail though, where we were passed by many happy and fit people. There were people of all shapes, sizes, and ages. One young man who was hiking it in dress shoes made it look easy. He passed us four different times. When we told him he made it look easy ,he said it was because he was taking it slow. This struck me as funny since he kept passing us. We saw a mother carrying a baby, a lady carrying her puppy, as well as elderly folks making the climb.

We were probably about an hour and a quarter into our hike when it became very steep. This was the part of the path that earned it the “difficult” rating. This truly showed me that I have not been treating my body the way it deserves and I need to be better. When we hit the steepest parts, I would climb about three yards along the path and be so winded, I had to stop. I wanted to turn around and go back. Inside, my mind, I was screaming for me to stop. That inner justifier was saying you can go back and have more time to enjoy your Airbnb. You do not need to keep going. No one will judge you. But I had told myself I will do this, that I can do this, and I would be disappointed with myself if I didn’t do this. So I ignored that inner voice that just wanted to stop and forged on.

The climb, though hard, was full of beautiful scenery. Trees so tall they take your breath away. Cute little wild flowers that added a splash of color. We tracked on about another 15 minutes when my husband verbalized what I had been thinking. “I feel like I just want to stop and turn around” he said. Well nothing brings out my inner cheerleader like hearing someone else want to quit. I suddenly was very positive about our success. I kept telling him how “Creps don’t give up”. We could and would do this. We would be so disappointed in ourselves if we didn’t. We continued to plod along up the mountain, to a promise of a breathtaking view.

The inner cheerleader in me lost strength after a bit and I began to question my sanity. I asked Marty repeated if he wanted too stop and turn around. I worried about how sore our bodies would be the next day. Marty was now motivated and his never let go attitude was in full out determination mode. On we went.

As some other hikers were descending, we asked how much farther. The lady told us we were very close. The man said what we thought was 40 minutes. Could I really keep going another 40 minutes. Yes, we were going to do this. No matter what. On we went. Suddenly we round the corner on a switchback and could see light coming through the trees. I am pretty sure I heard trumpets blowing and confetti was falling. As we climb the final few steps to the rocky ledge top, one of the hikers, who had passed us earlier, said (with some surprise in his voice), “Hey, you made it”. We felt exactly the same way and told him so. We had made it! Our lungs burned, our legs were wobbly with fatigue, and sore muscle would welcome us the next day but we had made it. Despite all the screaming in our heads to quit! Despite the fact that it took us twice as long to climb it as we expected (2 hours vs the 1 hour promised on the sign), we had made it.

I climbed out on the edge of the ledge and sat down even closer to the giant drop off. I have always been afraid of heights but on this day I was Queen of this mountain! Looking over the sheer drop off did not bother me (much). I sat there, amongst the clouds, overlooking the valley. I could see the parking lot, next to the lake, below were we had started from. Wow, we did this!

When things seem to be taking longer than you would like, when your inner voice is yelling at you to give up, just keep going. Sometimes you cannot see the light through the trees that promise success, but it is close at hand. You might just round the next corner and see the light. Suddenly, without warning, you will be at your destination and have achieved your desired outcome.

Voyage on my friends. Thank you for reading my blog today. May all of your journeys end with success and pride! I love you! You can do this!