{This is a Feel Good Post}
Stepping outside our comfort zone has become a clique and I have got to say.. A very true statement of how we can grow as people & in our businesses.
We owe it to ourselves to test our physical, mental & spiritual boundaries to feel what we are made of.
I love it when culture, and even Hollywood, highlights ideas and ways to stretch ourselves into personal greatness.
I was reminded of this as we finished off our 14 mile backpacking trip with the kids in the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia…
I was taking to a park ranger who mentioned that the movie, WILD with Reese Witherspoon, has inspired many to grow and heal via nature, physical challenge & backpacking.
I have been hiking since being a young girl in Venezuela. I lived near a national park & would often pack a snack & a butterfly net and go hiking after school. I would usually do this alone and just talk out loud as if the plants, rivers and animals could hear and understand me. The answers would always come, if not one day, then maybe later in the week.
Later in my twenties, I began to pack a tent, sleeping bag & food and explore nature in the most intimate way; to walk her, talk to her, lay my head on hers at night, take a rock or two, and give her gratitude for the journey.
Having kids for some seems to stop the adventure of life. I will admit all that seemed so fun before kids, seems loaded with more work. And I would also add that there is something so rewarding about introducing a new generation of young women to appreciate nature, their own physical & mental strength & to experience the reward and accomplishment of logging miles in the mountains.
We have been backpacking for now 3 years, with an average of 18 miles with each trek. The first year there were major temper tantrums ( maybe even some by the adults in our family!), second year minor meltdowns, and this year with a bit of a whinny & rough start, we settled nicely into bonding, encouraging, supporting, and the best conversations.
Spending time with my family in this way is priceless. The highlight for me was one moment when my girls discussed how “if we drove to this place it would not be as satisfying”…
They now get it. They get the magic of nature on foot and knowing what they are capable of. And for us as parents, this has given us a ritual to step outside our every day life and connect as fellow travelers on the road of life with our growing daughters.
May you find something that you love, that stretches you, that gives you dimension beyond your work, and may it be an adventure you get to share with those you love!