Being out of the game for basically a year, AND it being steamy hot, i was going to start slow but i decided to challenge myself. I connected two loops B and C at Tyler State Park for a 5.5 mile trek. That may not SEEM like a lot, but it was A LOT! 

Sometimes I stomp out anxiety and fear, sometimes I pray. Today, I stepped onto the trail and started talking to Him. He had the audacity to interrupt me and tell me to just listen this time and He had a lot to say. Not only was it mind clearing and therapeutic to push myself in the heat, but it created the opportunity to REALLY listen  . . . 

•Slow down when you need to, instead of continuing to tough it through life pushing Pushing PUSHING until you are “done.”  Slowing down isn’t comfortable, but if you don’t, you may not make it to the end. 

•Listen and respond to what your mind, body and spirit are whispering to you before it becomes a scream.  The whisper is easier to resolve than the scream. 

•Keep trying between each stumble. Each time you’ll realize the confidence is building up.

•If you look back, you can see where you got lost and know that you don’t want to get lost there again. And yet, don’t keep looking back, look forward to the beautiful path ahead of you with hope and wonder and expectation. 

•Some lost hikers looked at ME and decided I could save them . . . Pausing to allow plenty of time for laughter. . . 

My son has been navigating life with me for 34 years and 7 months and could fill in the gaps here, and plenty of you know the stories and know what happened next 💅🏼. Thank you AllTrails for coming in clutch. 

And the always random that never stops for me

•Does my Vault Arms hat make me look like I’m packing heat? Because people stare and I’m okay if they think there’s a pistol in my Osperey. 

•Those red shrooms in Super Mario are a real thing. I saw one. 

•The smell of dog poop on the trail gives me a skush bit of anxiety. IYKYK. ICYDK – I broke my ankle hiking in November stepping around a pile of dog poop. 

I’ll never stop saying how incredible nature, the outdoors, trees and peace are for your mental health. When you find a prescription that works, keep using it. This is my prescription. 

I have many blogs written that have to stay stored “under my pillow” for now and possibly forever, but I think my new series will each be what I heard on the trail because it is good stuff 100% of the time.  And it’s not just about the trail.