09/01/2022
Today it’s just me, myself and I!
Recently, I find myself enjoying being gifted various opportunities to embrace challenges, to work with the unplanned and be adventurous.
Today, I find myself at Ennerdale! This was not planned….. in fact I may have taken a wrong turn as I was heading to a different lake!!! But after more than a few unexpected decisions regarding location, type of walk, direction etc etc, I find myself on a tiny, crumbling, virtually nonexistent path to who knows where and bizarrely, I realise, that this is exactly as it should be!
I had intended a leisurely lakeside amble, but then I realised I needed to work a little harder and gain a bigger view, so I had to head upwards. At this point I set my sights on an outcrop, despite the apparent lack of path!!! The uphill hauling of my body resulted in clear lungs, a big view and a happy heart! ( as it usually does!)
So I’m on the wrong path, at the wrong lake, it’s raining, sleeting and even hail stoning sometimes, oh and my footwear isn’t the best really!!! But I’m loving every single second of it! Life can be so many things if we loosen our grip on what ‘should be’ and allow in, with a sense of peace, what actually is!
From my stunning vantage point, at the top of the outcrop, my vision is clear in so many ways, and I can see a bigger path to lead me back to the car and back to the hotel where I will get on with the work I have brought with me to do. I know already that I will sit down with a much clearer head than before!!! What better way to start the day.
As I walk back on the ‘proper’ path…. I’m reminded how far I’ve come in recent times.
I few years ago I turned back from this path because it was too narrow, the drop was too steep and the fear too great! Today I realise that the path in-front of me, though it still has its challenges, is many, many times more stable and walkable than the one I just did half an hour ago! The voice that stopped me years ago had started to kick in for me as I carefully picked my way along my slightly dubious path of choice earlier, the ‘what if I can’t?’ voice. It’s a strong and sometimes overwhelming voice for me, but today another one was louder! The one that says, ‘but Jo, what if you can!’ ‘What then?’
It’s still a hard battle for me, to not constantly doubt myself, but this more positive voice, is loud enough to be heard a little more often these days!
It was timely and much needed, to have this reminder of how far I’ve come and that the decisions we make, or don’t make, generally work out ok. I can’t help but wonder how many ‘wrong’ turns end up being just right in the end!!
I must try to keep the words ‘but Jo what if you can?’ at the forefront of my mind as I prepare to introduce my new yoga classes, retreats and workshops! A challenge indeed!!! 💙
🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹
