PEBBLE
I am not fully healed, I am not fully wise, I am still on my way. What matters is that I am moving forward.
~Yung Pueblo, shared by Jo in Los Angeles, CA
BOULDER
You will get to your destination, perhaps.
But right now, the walk is everything.
Every step is reminding you how to live.
Every breath is a little guru.
~Jeff Foster, shared by Merle in New Jersey
PONDER
Y’all know I love the mountains, right?
My favorite mountain hikes are those that take me somewhere beautiful AND challenging enough that I feel like I earned the view. That usually means that I struggle a bit on the way up, sometimes wondernig if I’m even going to make it.
One morning this summer I found myself trudging up a trail…it was a little steeper than usual, the temperature was a little colder than I prefer, and the whole thing was feeling more like a chore than an adventure.
At one point I paused to rest, and started wondering if maybe I should just turn around since I wasn’t having that much fun. Out of the blue I remembered a quote that had been sitting on my computer for a while..something about getting there eventually if I can just focus on each step and each breath? (hint: see the Jeff Foster quote above!).
I couldn’t fully recall the quote, but I came up with this phrase that I decided to focus on as I resolved to keep going for a little while longer:
Every breath’s my teacher, every step’s my friend.
During the next hour I repeated it over and over, gradually becoming a mantra that helped me stay present, focused, and moving forward.
Each breath was indeed teaching me to focus on the here and now.
Each step was a reliable companion, helping me get a little farther along my path.
Not only did this help me reach the top (and oh yes the view was spectacular), it greatly expanded my appreciation of the ascent as well. It’s so trite and it’s also so true: it’s about the journey AND it’s about the destination. Both/and, not either/or!
Wherever you’re headed right now, and however challenging things are today: remember that each time you take a breath, and each time you take a step forward, you’ve got a teacher and a friend right there with you.
Peace,
Paul
P.S. I treasure these weekly oportunities to process my life with you. Thank you for reading these, and thank you for helping me grow.
