I talked today to a good friend. She reminded me, when I told her about my rocky faith in this mission, that I had set out to hike this hike to the end. She reminded me that hard times were part of the journey. And she reminded me that darkness usually comes before light.
Talking to others out here, my feelings seem almost commonplace. We all are longing for the Oregon boarder. We all are moaning over the 100 degree heat wave we are in. We all are questioning our sanity.
This morning I woke up and tried to do things differently today. I decided to gather up joyous moments, instead of looking for and harping on the miserable ones (what I’ve been doing for at least a few days).
And here are the snippets:
The electric shock of cold water restarting my system. I put my head under the water and come up, gasping at the freezing new life I find myself in. The pool is deep, a magical waterfall cascading from the sky above into a higher pool into a middle pool into the pool I am in. I explore the pool with the waterfall, amazed by the fury with which it falls.
The purple pinks of the sunset, casting stunning Mount Shasta in silhouette. When I turn my head to look behind me, a nearly full moon is rising against the dusk sky.
A text from an ex who tells me the Eels reminds him of me too. A moment of reconnection.
A conversation over a hasty dinner, where a couple of hikers found me sitting in the grassy middle of an intersection of three gravel roads. They live in Lake Tahoe, and I express my amazement at what must be a beautiful life. They wonder what a copywriter is, and I explain. We are all blown away that people pay me to blog for them.
A brief meeting of hikers and I at a spring. I tell them I have the obscene song they played for me days ago stuck in my head. They play it again. We analyze the idiotic lyrics.
The flat spot I come to for my bed. Being tired, but still writing this down. Being happy that life today was good. Being happy that my feet only have minimal pain. Being happy to feel such love and support when my own defenses are crumbling. Ands actually being excited to see what scenery tomorrow holds.
