Trails

Each year around this time, I escape Florida for some cooler weather to do some hiking in Colorado's beautiful mountains.  The more I hike, the more I realize how different each trail is. There are high trails and low trails, challenging trails, and accessible trails.  Some trails are named after people, places, and even nature.  Trails can run through woods, mountains, or aside streams, but one thing is for sure, they all lead to something or somewhere and can even lead you right back to where you started.  

I have had the opportunity to hike in different parts of our country and even in various countries around the world.  Every single trail that I have have been on has had its own beauty and its own story.  This reminds me that we all have our own paths that we follow in life.  The trails that you have been on have had their highs and their lows.  They have been rocky and challenging in some areas and clear and straightforward in others.  The view has been beautiful and majestic on some but then secluded, hidden and quiet on others.    

The various trails we venture down in life are all unique, no two can ever be the same.  But, venturing out into the world to follow your path is exciting, adventurous, and invigorating all at the same time.  Every trail leaves us a lesson to take with us to the next chapter of our beautifulife and teaches us something about who we are and what we can endure.  

There are important decisions to make when venturing onto any trail.  What do you take with you?  Do you pack food and water to get you through depending on the intensity and distance?  Do you follow a map or an app that describes different ways to go, or do you venture out wherever it may lead without knowing the outcome?  Do you take the Highline for a better view, or do you choose the low line, which might be a safer alternative?  Do you accept the path less traveled or the one that looks like most have gone before? 

Regardless of where your trails have led you or the circumstances that brought you down those trails, I know for sure that you have learned many valuable lessons from each one.  I can remember many times while on a path that I wished I would have gotten off back at the last exit.  Instead, I continued on feeling confident only to second guess my decision.  I remember feeling tired, feet sore, out of food and water, and beginning to encourage myself to continue because all trails do come to an end sometime.  

Today, I want to encourage you to keep venturing out onto the many crazy, winding trails that life has for you to experience.  No matter how hard or intense they get, embrace them, learn from them, grow from them, and cherish your quiet moments to reflect on where they all started.

My affirmation for you this week is;

“I am looking forward to as well as looking back on my various trails in life to embrace the beauty of how far I have come.”