Step Three - Blaze Your Own Trail

What do you do when you reach the end of a path that has been laid out FOR you?  You create your own.

One of my favorite words (despite Sarah Palin's abuse of it) is "trailblazer." I like it because it brings to mind an image of a person that is bold enough to create a new trail for themselves, and others, where one doesn't exist. 

For much of my life, I've been a stay-on-the-path kinda girl. I figured that if there was a path, it was there for a reason and that it was likely my best option for moving forward because it was tried, true and safe. The complete opposite of what a trailblazer would think and do.

Have you ever gone for a walk in the park and get the sudden urge to venture off in a new direction? That's your internal trailblazer telling you that it's time to try something different. Sometimes in life, it's necessary to deviate from the established path.

That’s how I came to love hiking and trail running. I always stuck to sidewalks and tracks because everyone used them. I never realized how much I was missing out on by staying within that comfort zone. There is so much more to see and do! Every time I take a new path, I discover something cool and unique.

Making my own trail when it comes to my health and well-being is the norm for me now. I don’t follow fad diets or buy the latest fitness equipment. I do what feels right for my body. I listen to it closely because it will let me know what it wants or needs. 

Blaze your own trail when it comes to your health and wellness and soon you'll be creating new paths in other areas of your life. Adventure awaits!

Happy Trails!

Valeka

The Path

No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.  - Buddha

The difficulties you meet will resolve themselves as you advance. Proceed, and light will dawn, and shine with increasing clearness on your path. - John Rohn 

This week has been a rather introspective one for me.  My thoughts floated to others and the difficulties they are facing and I also thought about my life and the path I am traveling.  I did as I promised to BFF's dad and went for several trail wogs this week with my trusty sidekick, Big Baby.  We have a lovely greenbelt trail behind our home.  It's serene and peaceful even though it's in the city.  

As I walked along the trail, I thought about the path I am on in life.  Being healthy and taking care of myself should be something that is simple but I tend to over-complicate it.  I know I'm not alone in that.  Why do we make things harder for ourselves than they need to be?  Big Baby and I took our time enjoying the mid-day warmth as we wogged along.  We took in all the little sights and sounds as we made our way along the trail.  Even though things are terribly dry, we did manage to find unexpected beauty on our path.

Big Baby and I came to a crossroads on our trail.  I asked her which road she wanted to take and rather than walk in a particular direction, she sat, looked up at me and waited for me to decide which trail to take.  She was waiting for me to take charge and pick a path, any path, for us to continue our journey on.  Staying in one place is never an option when venturing down any trail.  So which path to choose? 

I picked the more challenging trail which was loaded with rocks and dirt.  

The trail eventually went from rocky and rough to green and beautiful.  

I thought about how it was the perfect analogy for life - you pick the path you feel is best for you at the time and begin your journey.  Some paths are easier than others, have different obstacles and change terrain as you venture along.  A few paths even have unexpected twists and turns.  But if you stay on it long enough and overcome the rough patches, you eventually find your reward at the end for persevering.  At the end of this particular path was home for me and Big Baby (where she was rewarded with frozen blueberries).  My life path still has a lot left to be discovered and a lot of fallen trees to climb over but I can do it.  There is much unexpected beauty ahead of me.

Happy Trails!

Valeka