Category: Journey to YOUR HeartLand

July 21, 2019

Ahh! The Great Smoky Mountains refresh my soul! Their lush, opulent vegetation, towering trees, cool temperatures, and misty moistness wrap me in intrigue, curiousity and wonder! John and I squeezed in another overnight before heading to Atlanta for a busy week.

We took the Balsalm Ridge Trail up to Laurel Gap Shelter where I renewed my attachments to the Benton MacKaye Trail which I walked four times in a year in 2009-2010. Those trips provided unforgettable experiences in solo hiking! Although I had gone to the Appalachian Trail in 2007 by myself, I was rarely alone once I got on the trail. The Benton MacKaye Trail, 288 miles in the Smoky Mountains, Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia, is sparsely traveled. I had plenty of time on my own! I was surprised how much I enjoyed it! Here are a few things I learned from hiking solo. read more

July 12, 2019

Getting ready for a walk is tedious, especially when I haven’t done it for a while! I’m really glad this isn’t my first time going out backpacking, though! Looking back to my first walks on the Appalachian Trail, reminds me of the constant learning, trying new gear, and becoming familiar with the trail lifestyle! Some of it takes time and practice! Some aspects of hiking, however, can be taught and used on one’s first hike! Not everything has to be learned by trial and error! read more

July 13, 2019

Today I turn 65 and I’m going for a walk! I realized that I’ve been anticipating this birthday for a couple of years now, and most acutely since January when I marked April 1 on my calendar. That was the day I could apply for Medicare, the right of passage for 65! That happened. I got my Medicare card. Now, the actual birthday seems humdrum. Driving to the Great Smoky Mountains to set up a five-day walk seems perfect!

I did receive a message yesterday, though, that reminded me of the kind of person I want to be – maybe for this next phase of my life! I reached out to a woman I had gifted my Walk For a Singing Heart in January. I had not heard from her, so I just sent a message to check in. She answered right away: read more

July 9, 2019

Today, I was honored to play the boardgame, Satori, with two courageous women. We had a fantastic time discovering Old Stories and letting go of our attachment to having them. As always, the cards we picked and the game’s pathway provided each of us a unique and custom-made experience! We laughed, cried, felt our feelings, and ended at Satori feeling lighter, more valuable, and freed from our past!

One of us got sent three times to the square Spiritual Bypass!  We groaned and supported our new friend in following the instructions for that square: read more

July 4, 2019

I occasionally dedicate time to read the Declaration of Independence on the Fourth of July! Going to the original text arouses reverence for this day and why we celebrate it! This time I perused the list of readings as performances on YouTube. A worthy occupation for part of an hour! Have fun making your own choice. Here’s one I liked:

https://youtu.be/0awtAljLyxc

I also reflect on what freedom means to me, personally. I realize that at one level, I have been freed from the emotional tyranny of my misperceptions – of others’ thoughts, of my own abilities, of the powers of beliefs. read more

June 30, 2019

Since writing to you last, I have experienced something new for my life that I’ll never forget! It will also inform me for how I might choose my own Life’s path! For two nights, on June 25th and 26th, I held vigil for Colin Tipping, my teacher of Radical Forgiveness, as he lay in transition from his physical to spiritual life.  Reading Colin’s account of embracing his journey with cancer during the past couple of years, invites me to integrate the idea that death is truly a transition, not an end! For someone who has touched me and thousands of others so deeply with his life-changing tools, how could this possibly be an end? read more

June 25th, 2019

Another leg of my Summer Journey 2019 is complete. I stayed with my middle son, his wife and 3-yr old in Charleston, SC. This morning, I remembered that I had picked up some of my household stuff that my friend Cynthia had been care taking for me in Covington, GA. Turns out that Adam was happy to receive the huge bread bowl that had graced our family kitchen and turned out regular batches of homemade bread. He’s a dough maker too. What a heartwarmer to bequeath family heirlooms in person! The bowl had been made for me as a gift from my mom by Joan Weber, ceramic artist from Dayton, OH. Her work was her spiritual ministry and I always felt that making bread in that bowl was a sacred ceremony. It was inscribed with the words “Oh taste and see the goodness of the Lord Jesus Christ” May its blessings and sacred purpose continue to permeate and nourish all those who eat of its gifts. read more