Hiking Through Life's Uphills

Back in May, I had the pleasure of driving a good friend of mine back to the Appalachian Trail. She's hiking it from start to finish and stopped off on her way past Charlotte for a week's worth of rest. I drove her back to her journey and the whole way we talked about her experience. See, Rachel is a recent graduate and, like most graduates, they have no idea what they want to do with their lives once they leave college. Though, not many people choose 5 months of hiking in the wilderness to help them figure that out...

We had some awesome discussions about our connectivity to the earth - how when she was faced with the elements it was like feeling the Earth's emotions. When the Earth was upset, rainy, gloomy... So was she. We talked about how work can a lot of times hinder us from our hobbies, our passions and while careers are fun and important they are not the end-all-be-all of who we are. How we are constantly working to make a life for ourselves but a lot of times our work ends up BEING our life. But also how work can be so fulfilling when you're doing something that you love and care about.

These things really hit home for me considering I had recently been laid off and had a few job offers to choose from. They were all really great offers but when it came down to it, I wanted the one that best suited my life. That would best allow me to live and grow. Not just in my career path but as a person. Life is so short and we have to live it while we have it. I chose the company I now work for, for a few reasons. One of the major ones is I admire the owner. He really seems to value being ethical, understanding and appreciative of his employees, and just a good person in the community that he lives. All the other people in the company seem to completely respect him. There are so many ways that he gives back to the community that I felt like I could really learn from him and stand behind a product that is created in such an environment.

I am grateful that my friend took time to stop in Charlotte for a visit. If you'd like to follow her trip, she occasionally posts details on her adventures at her blog: Appalachian Trail Tales. I will leave you with a wonderful meditation she wrote while on her journey:

Wait.
Stop and slow down.
You aren´t there yet,
not quite yet.
Here, now.
This is where you are,
where you truely are.

Tomorrow´s worries
and yesterday´s failures
are neverending,
passing and changing
each moment, each day.
Today´s to-do lists can wait,
so can the shoulds and shouldnt´s,
and the wish I could or would.

Stop and listen.
Your heart opening,
being shaped and molded
by the precious gift of life,
moving through you,
each moment
each day.