My friend Katie and I hiked up the Longs Peak trail Wednesday for a mile and a half (of the 8 mile journey to the summit). Katie is planning to move soon. The mountain that she sees daily from her front door was calling her to walk its trail before she leaves. Katie has asthma, so was unsure of her ability to hike a steep uphill trail. As a precaution, she was armed with meds and a small can of oxygen. However, she did great, only took one hit of oxygen, and hiked further than she expected!
We had a wonderful morning and spent our time talking about art and writing and inspiration and challenges. Concerns about our abilities to hike the trail dropped away as we became absorbed in our conversation. We also created a ritual by a small sheltered rock nook to honor our Mother Earth and pray for her and our loved ones.
I had been avoiding such uphill hikes for the past couple of years, thinking my knees particularly were not up for the climb. I am very grateful that Katie asked me to go on this hike, because the mountain trails give me such deep renewal and I accomplished far more than I thought possible!
Sound familiar? Where in your life do you need a similar big or little push? How might you enlist a friend to help you? Or how might you pay it forward and help a friend?
