The Trail Not Taken... and the Unexpected Joy that Followed
Some of life's most uncomfortable moments come when things don't go as we hoped they would. But it doesn't have to be this way.
My mom (hi Mom! 👋 😘) is an avid hiker and finds joy walking the trails with friends. She's the founder of two hiking groups, including one called the "Cookie Crunchers" because they always bring cookies to nibble! Over the past year she's had some health hiccups and has had to adjust how far and how steeply she hikes.
A month ago, she realized that it wouldn't be wise for her to try to complete the full hike the group had set out to do. She made the difficult decision to stop part way and wait for the others as they carried on and then meet them on their way back again.
She chose a spot by a stream and sat down to wait. This was totally new for her. She was used to being with the group, going the full distance, in community with her friends. Instead she was by herself, sitting, waiting. She stood and paced back and forth for a while. She strained at the slow passage of time. Waiting.
She sat back down on the rock.
As she sat there, she began to notice the sound of the stream beside her. Initially, it was one uniform, constant sound. As time went on, she began to notice that she could hear different parts of it. "It got so that I could hear the sound of the water passing over specific rocks," she told me with awe in her voice last night.
This hike didn't turn out the way it was supposed to, and yet it has become one of her most memorable and cherished hiking experiences.
I am so grateful to her for sharing that story with me. I needed to hear it. It reminded me that every challenge comes with an opportunity - an opportunity to notice what is here in the place of what was planned. Sometimes what is here is more magnificent than anything we could have planned.
And of course, my mom's experience speaks to the power of slowing down, being still, paying attention; of letting go of the need to do or achieve, or meet goals, and opening instead to the chance to be.
Sending love and wishes for moments of unexpected joy,
Erika Long
Co-Founder, Work in Progress, Grateful Human
P.S. Thanks, Mom! ❤️
At Community Mindfulness Project, we envision a world where mindfulness is a broadly-distributed, community-based skillset.
We are 68% of the way to our annual appeal fund goal: your donation will help make that world a reality!