AURORA BOREALIS IS OUR COSMIC CONNECTION, one that can free us from the good/evil paradigm and heal our connection to a vibrant, changing universal being. As alchemists for change, the stars and our nerve cells mirror each other, the current upheavals on Earth reflecting our growth. Let's engage the aurora borealis as a cosmic synapse to co-create a gentle transition from the "Me ness" of youth to the "We ness" of maturity and support cosmic change.
My brother in law's birthday was coming up. I couldn't figure out what to give him. I searched all morning. I came home and took a nap. While napping I had a dream that I needed to go to Mountain Chalet downtown. I assumed I would instantly find that perfect gift when I got there. I walked in. I looked around. Nothing in particular called out to me at first. I continued to look...why would I have had that dream? There must be some reason... Eventually I forgot about my mission and continued looking around at all the things they had. Things I really loved. Suddenly I looked up, and just like in the movies when the camera suddenly zooms in on something important, across the room from me I saw a book on the shelf. I walked up to it. "Hiking America's Long Trails" or something like that. Up until that moment, I had never backpacked. I had heard of but never even gave thought to the long trails. I had done lots of camping and knew that I dreamed of having backpacking gear (I had wanted it for years but didn't really have a specific reason why.) I quickly flipped through the book. The Appalachian Trail stuck out at me. A tiny, tiny seed was planted. Could I ever conceive of such a journey? Could someone like me even do something like that? What kind of sacrifice would something like this take? Would it be worth it? I put the book back, and left the store. But the seed grew. Randomly I would think again of this idea. One day I decided to pitch it to my husband. "I am thinking--now really just imagining-- that I would like to maybe someday do something like this." He liked the idea. He thought maybe someday he would like to also. But then we couldn't stop thinking of it and we soon began researching it online. And the seed grew so big, and so quickly, we knew we were going to have to actually consider this as a possibility. It took us 6 months of back-and-forth "we want to do this, we don't want to do this" and research for the day to arrive that we looked at each other and said, "Ok, we are going to hike the Appalachian Trail." We gave ourselves two years to prepare, (which went very quickly) and in June of 2012 we let go of our house, brought our kitty to my sister's, put our belongings in storage, and set off together to the middle of the wilderness in Maine where the trail begins. I had no idea even after months of research and planning whether I'd be capable of hiking a trail 2,200 miles long stretching from Maine to Georgia through the Appalachian Mountain range. I had resolved that something so frightening and exciting, and vast and unknown, would be worth what I had to give up, and worth the fear and worth having faith for. We began in the 100 mile wilderness, and after 13 days without resupply (longest stretch on the trail) and days of rain, and foot pain, and really difficult terrain, ("Where's the trail?"--There's no such thing as switchbacks on the A.T. in Maine) I had resolved to quit. But somehow,after that first town, I pressed on. And soon found experience after experience of sucessfully accomplishing things I did not believe were possible for me, and before I knew it I had hiked 500 miles. On my own two feet. 3 states down. 1000 miles. Half way point. 1500 miles. It was astonishing. It took much courage, determination, perserverance, and faith. And it provided much peace, fresh air, instant manifestation of needs, and breathtaking beauty every single day.
ReplyDeleteIn just one piece of writing I can't possibly capture the awe of what I experienced living out there, with just a backpack and my essentials. It was beautiful. It was difficult. It was heaven. It was hell. It was worth everything. It was a dream come true. I learned so many lessons, of which I will share and continue to benefit from throughout my life. I am changed to the core. I am so grateful. And to think, I thought I was looking for a gift for my brother-in-law. Synchronicity. But what I found was a gift of an incredible adventure and a dream come true.This is the time to follow your heart's impulses. Follow your dreams no matter what it takes. They will bless you with more than you ever imagined, and become a part of your incredible story. Life is for living. ~Thank you~ Abigail Stohs
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your story, Abbey!
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