Now that I’ve “awakened” to the possibility that my experience of separation from ease and joy and physical hardship is only PART of the reality of Heaven and Earth, it’s impossible to convince myself that I’m REALLY alone, even though it feels like that at the moment.
And I’m really working on it too! Even as I’m sharing thoughts and questions and inspiring videos with my Facebook Friends, I’m trying to convince myself that no one really cares about me or my work. Isn’t that interesting?!!
What would I share more of if I’m “COMING FROM THE HEART” without worrying if I’m being judged or if I’ll make money at it? Here are some activities I’ll CHOOSE to share more starting today:
What’s in my way is worrying that I can’t schedule them while I’m out on the trail because I can’t guarantee connectivity. Well, here’s a possibility: What if the calls happened anyway even if I weren’t there?!!!!!
Here’s to sharing “carelessly”!
“You’ve gotta sing like you don’t need the money
Love like you’ll never get hurt
Dance like there’s nobody watching
You gotta come from the heart if you want it to work.” Kathy Mattea
This is my theme song from the Radical Forgiveness Miracles Weekend!
Look for more sharing soon!
In joy
Regina
Deep Creek Crossing
It’s October, 2009. I’m standing on the north side of Deep Creek in the Smokies. “It’s not good to be here alone”, I thought. “It’s not safe here. I shouldn’t be doing this by myself. I should turn back. Is there another way?”
I’m at mile 44, three miles shy of the half way point in the Smokies section of the Benton MacKaye Trail I’m looking at my map, tracing a possible alternate route around the swollen torrent that is Deep Creek. I’m considering scooting across the tipped log that’s interrupted by perpendicular poles. That’s what the bridge had become.
Four Seasons on the Benton MacKaye Trail
Reflections on Mileposts on the Trail
Regina Reiter
BMTSouthbound – June, 2009; October, 2009; January, 2013
BMTNorthbound- April, 2010
BMT Davenport Gap to Beech Gap, January, 2010
Links: Photos, Journals, Reflections, Slide shows
http://www.trailjournals.com/mssnglnk Pictures galore in many trail journals
https://forgivenesswalks.com/newsletter-archives/ Words for Winter Walking series
https://forgivenesswalks.com/benton-mackaye-trail/ First Winter Walk and Spring Walk slide shows
Sunrise on Noland Divide
From Regina’s 2013 Journal –
Winter Walk on the Benton MacKaye Trail
It’s our fourth morning on the trail. It’s still dark, but the short day length nudges me to wake up and get started before daylight. I listen. “It’s not raining! Hurray! “ The lack of falling rain, however, does not mean that it’s dry! Here at 4,000 feet elevation in the Great Smoky Mountains, it’s not raining because we are in the clouds.
Warm and snug in our double layer down sleeping bags, I can imagine pacing down the trail feeling warmed by brisk walking in the cold, foggy air. That will feel great! What deters me, however, is resisting the transition from being warm inside to being warm outside! In between, there’s a careful, methodical procedure of striking camp that promises a comical dance with cold and wet that unfolds in quickly executed steps. You see, we don’t carry extra clothes, just one set of inside clothes to wear in the tent, and one set of outside clothes to wear on the trail. Since it rained yesterday, our outermost layers are wet. Our dance goes something like this:
Regina, founder of Forgiveness Walks, completed the 300-mile Benton MacKaye Trail during a walk in January, 2013. Follow her journey, photographed by John Lemberg in slides and music.
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Let Regina and Forgiveness Walks inspire, train, and coach you to love yourself and your life just as you are, opening the gateway to shifting old beliefs and stories. As you do, vibrant energy, fulfilling relationships, and freedom from your past will fill your life.
In this photo, I’m wearing my food-bag skirt!
My shorts had ripped and my rainpants were too hot. When backpacking, I don’t carry extra clothes, just one of each type, except socks. I cut the bottom seam of my nylon food bag, which turned out to be just the perfect size for a drawstring skirt. It’s made of silnylon, silicon nylon, so it’s waterproof. It was a good rain skirt too!
When have YOU been resourceful, using something right at hand to fill in for something that you didn’t have.
I’m standing on Big Frog Mountain just north of the Georgia-Tennessee border, marveling at the crystal bright snow and shuddering in the cold. “Let’s get out of this wind! I’m glad we didn’t camp up here last night.”
My hiking partner and I turn to go, heading southward on the Benton MacKaye Trail. My shoulders bent away from the wind. My heart swelled with joy. “I’m within reach of my goal to walk this 300-mile trail all the way through in all four seasons! That’s so wonderful!”
It’s scary to think that maybe in myself is contained some of the extreme disconnect that a violent person feels before going on a rampage, even one so heinous as killing someone. I want to deny that I could do something like that, but I have to admit that the feelings are right there. I’m feeling separate from everyone and I know it. Today, I am so entrenched in my story that if I were unstable, undernourished, or easily knocked off center, I could harm someone. Most likely, I would hurt myself first. The truth is, that I AM hurting myself by maintaining my victim story.