Yes, There Will Be Horseshit....

So when I want to get out and get some fresh air, oh, wait, I'm surrounded by fresh air here.....So when I want to get out and get some exercise, I love to go to Cave Creek Regional Park. There is a combination of sections of 4 connecting trails that create a really cool 3 mile loop. Wait, did you say 3 MILES?? Yes, yes I did. Did I start with that? Hell no, worked up to it, and the terrain is still a nice challenge. I can't tell you the great sense of accomplishment the first time I did it and didn't die. (There is another longer, harder loop that I'm working up to, but may not get that one done before summer hits and it's 400 degrees here...)

Now, when you first saw the picture above, what did you think? Where did your eyes go first? The beautiful day? The way the trees work together to make an arch to walk through? Nope, I'm betting your eyes went straight to the pile of horseshit. And you may or may not have seen that there are some additional piles further along the path.

I took this photo a couple weeks ago because it's perfect. 

We plan our path, we create our path, we envision our path - and then as we are walking it, AAAHHHH!!!! There's a big pile of crap!!! And here's what we do:

We look at it
We analyze it
We look at it more closely
We wonder how it got there
We get even closer and focus on it more
We stand in the middle of it
We kick it around and then wonder why it's on our shoes
We tell everyone about it
We ask everyone what they think about it
We cry about it
Then we wonder why we can't get out of it

Or - we see it, panic, and in trying to avoid it, we end up in the rocks and cactus and rattlesnakes.  

OR......

Did you notice how much of the path is NOT covered in crap? We could just acknowledge that crap happens and then WALK AROUND IT. Get the lesson and move on. Focus on everything else in the photo that is NOT crap. Sheesh. Not sure why this is so hard for us to do, but I am certainly guilty of all of the above crappy focus.  

I have managed to walk the trails at the park many times and not step in the horseshit even once. I have tripped over rocks because I was looking around and enjoying the view, but I have always paid attention to the piles of crap and then moved around them. Time to do that in daily life.....

Have a great day my friends, and focus on the great, beautiful parts of your path....

From Lessons in Laguna to Adventures in Arizona

A few of my friends have been asking me when I was going to start blogging again. After moving and ending my previous blog Lessons from Laguna December , earlier this year I was considering what direction to take with a new blog and what the focus would be - something more than me just rambling on.  Some ideas were coming through, but needed to have a focus and I wasn't coming up with anything that would compel me to write, and, who would want to take the time to read it??

After a start to my year that was not at all what I expected and way more challenging than I had imagined, blogging was set aside and I hadn't really thought about it. But, after comments from my friends nudging me to start writing again, a couple of ideas have been floating around in the back of my mind. Then this morning I wake up and my brain starts writing even though I still am not sure of what my message is....so, here goes....

Change: the act or instance of making or becoming different. An alteration or modification. A new or refreshingly different experience.

Transformation: a thorough or dramatic change in form or appearance, the act or process of changing completely.

Metamorphosis: a change of the form or nature of a thing or person into a completely different one, by natural or supernatural means. A process of profound and radical change, implies a basic change of character and little or no resemblance with the past configuration or structure.

I think we all want to make changes, and some of us want to transform, but let me just say, metamorphosis is not something for the fainthearted.....

Who just up and leaves their job, their family and friends, and the place they have lived their whole life? Someone who is brave? Or someone who is insane? Trust me, during this experience I have asked myself that a lot.

A  few years ago, I started making changes that led to being strong enough to leave a long relationship that needed to end and to start over. During my time in Laguna I went through a transformation that led me to start expressing who I truly am and to look at my future in a different way. Sooooo, now we hit the metamorphosis stage - leave everything behind and start over at a whole new level. 

Really? Are you sure about that???

Yes! Wait, no.  Um, yes.  Oh good grief, who knows - all I know is that I took another leap of faith, and when you do that you encounter situations that will test you and your faith.  

We are here to grow and evolve AND HAVE FUN. I had lost the focus on fun for a little while, however, I have had my spiritual butt kicked, and, with the help of my friends, I am getting back on track.

I'll do my best to share my growing, evolving experiences here in Arizona, and how I'm finding the fun amidst the challenges. If you want to grow and evolve, you are going to have curve balls, sharp left turns and the slamming on of brakes. Grow and evolve anyway.  

We'll see how this blog (and my adventures) develop, and hopefully you will enjoy joining me on my journey from the comfort of your own home.

Have a great day!

Lynette

New path to new adventures...