Lake Erie Reflections

Make Each Step Easy!

June 28,2024

“Make each step easy,” I reminded myself as I slowly stepped deeper into the cool water on the shore of Lake Erie. I focused on stepping safely, wearing my shoes on the rocky beach. The stones were smooth, yet there were a lot of them!

A dad nearby pushed his toddler into his butt in the water, laughing. A reminder of my dad flashed into my mind, replaying the practice of shocking us kids into leaving our comfort zone. Just do it!

I rejoiced in my freedom to choose a gentle way! “Make each step easy!” I repeated to myself, gradually and delightfully easing myself deeper into the lake with tiny steps over twenty minutes of contemplative wading.  For an hour I waded slowly in the refreshing water, finding the smooth slate or sand for my steps.  Relaxed and confidant, I returned to my camp. read more

Pushing

June 26, 2024

Path through blooming rhododendron
Rhododendron blooming. Three Ridges, VA

In answering a question on Reddit, my emotions were triggered with someone’s response that they wanted to push past their comfort zone, walk more miles, when their knee hurt after 8 or 9 miles of walking. What I wanted to reply was this:

It sounds like your body says, “this hurts now, can you please rest me”? Are you open to the idea that working WITH your body, loving it as it is, gradually healing and strengthening it with gentle walks, could give you a different connection to the trail, to yourself, to Nature? Could there be a way to be on the trail that fulfills a purpose besides competition, physical stress + pain, pushing? read more

Dancing with Solo – Mt. Greylock

Regina on Mt. Greylock wearing a purple hat in fog.
Third Summit of Mt. Greylock. Solo!

I did a thing! April 19-20, 2024 I visited Mt. Greylock on the Appalachian Trail in Massachussetts for my third climb. It was a sentimental/story-changing walk in my dance with solo walking.

  • On my first climb in 2007, I started the climb with a partner and finished it solo because of a misunderstanding.
  • My second climb in 2015 was with that same hiking partner who was back to being my hiking partner.
  • This time, 2024, I am solo again as my hiking partner has chosen to stay out in California while I have relocated to Ohio.
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    Hiking Lifestyle: clothes

  • One set of clothes. Wash underarms and crotch of my body, shirt, underwear with soap and sponge. I carry a small lidded Ziploc bowl for carrying water AWAY FROM THE WATERSOURCE and wear them dry. It’s amazingly not such a big issue when actually out walking. I certainly don’t want to be carrying laundry! Let this be easy! Seems like a big hurdle at first until the hiking lifestyle feeling kicks in. For me, that’s in about 14 days. After a couple of resupplies and I get to go back out, I feel integrated in trail habits. Laundry and clothes lose their fastidious importance for me!
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    Love Your Gear: New Shoes

    Blue Altra Running Shoes
    Nice wide toe box and cushy feel

    I need to update my list of 20 or so pairs of shoes I’ve worn since I started walking in service to others. It’s February, 2024, and I need bigger shoes! There’s a pun there, I know! Something about “those are some big shoes to fill”. Hmm. Maybe my own purpose is getting bigger, so I need bigger shoes?? Anyway, since that time walking on the Continental Divide Trail in 2013 when my shoes felt just too small and I bought a pair of used Reeboks with pink trim in a second-hand store in a trail town, my shoe size has increased again! read more

    Shoe Choice?!

    September 22, 2023

    My shoes feel too small! My beloved Oboz are worn on the soles after a year of wear. Mind you, they’re not worn from hiking, just everyday wear. I haven’t been walking much for the past two months because I’ve had a strange foot issue!

    An unknown bite! I woke up one morning with an irritation on the top of my foot. Long story short, 8 weeks later, it’s finally not swollen and painful and I can walk easily again.

    And now, my shoes feel tight. I walked to Walmart – closest store – and noticed the $20 comfy-looking Avias. Hmm. Tried them on and they feel good. One-half size larger and wide width. What could go wrong? They surely could make it for my upcoming 12 mile walk. read more

    Lightening the Load

    My friend shared her gear list for a 22-mile backpack journey and asked for suggestions on how to lighten her load. Here is her list, with my suggestions for her to consider. Items to eliminate are crossed out, with suggestions to consider in parentheses. My suggestions are bold and in red. These are simply my suggestions for her to consider. In the end, the key is to LOVE YOUR GEAR! One inspiring moniker I heard as a beginning backpacker is “if you don’t have it, you don’t need it!” I think about that every time I go out. read more

    Write a Detailed Life Goals List for Self-Care

    Write a Detailed Life Goals List

     

    Have you ever tried to make a plan for major life goals? Successful people have been using plans for hundreds of years to achieve the goals that will help them in the future, but if you’re new at it., you might feel sort of apprehensive. The positive thing here, is that this article has been written to help you get started on a path towards attaining goals, and to get you in the right mindset, you’ll find a detailed list of life goals here to try out.

     

     

    Get Healthier

     

    Health should be considered a top priority in your life, no matter what your goals are, even when you are focusing more on self-love and self-care. Taking better care of your health can become a way to practice more self-love on a daily basis. If you’re not doing great with being healthy, it can help you passively to spend some time getting that figured out.

     

    Being healthy means that you’ll be able to have greater focus in life, as well as a sharper ability to solve problems. When you’re starting to create your list of goals, keep in mind that they should be things that are easy for you to track. That means that you should be able to figure out what you’ll need to do to get to those goals.

     

    Be sure to write out the list with each of the details, so for example, part of getting healthier will be making sure that you are the proper nutrition, so you might put down that you will learn about nutrition, buy the right foods, and make sure to do some kind of meal preparation. As you complete the list, you’ll have a much clearer picture of what your next few months will be like.

     

     

    Learn to Balance Your Moods

     

    There are some days when it just seems like people aren’t on your side, but how do you deal with your anger? If you’ve been wanting to learn how to control your temper in a way that helps you to improve your relationships with others and cultivates a milder spirit, the first step is to realize that you’re the one who is in control of how people make you feel. When people fall short of your expectations, it’s important to remember that not every trespass is a personal attack against you. Most people are relatively concerned with their own issues and daily business then who else is around them, and there could easily be details that have escaped you.

    Another things to think about somewhat seriously, is how anger and stress can exact a hefty toll in the body over a sustained period of time. Intense emotional stress can bring about and aggravate some illnesses in people.  Having that much negativity can also harm vital organs like your heart, so learning to take it easy can also extend your life in some ways.

     

     

    Get a Grip on Your Finances

     

    IN a time of uncertainty, it can be really difficult to make the needed changes that will allow you to save money. If you don’t feel as though you can make it in the amount of money that you currently make, then it will be important to find out how you can make more money, and the steps that you need to take to get there. Once you see a clear path, it’ll remove a lot of the stress of having to think about your finances.

     

    Some people might even feel like it’s important to hire or see a professional that can help them to gain better control over their financial health. It takes a serious and honest look at your habits and lifestyle to see what you may need to do. Something as simple as an old unpaid bill can create some issues.

     

     

    Become a Better Communicator

     

    The majority of problems that people face in any kind of relationship are usually caused by poor communication techniques. People who haven’t developed a clear and honest communication technique can cause a lot of frustration to the people around them at work, school and home. If you find yourself prone to disagreements, then it might mean that there is something that you’re not conveying in a way that people can understand.

     

    It can be easy to forget that other people don’t have the ability to know the nuances of how you receive information. Sometimes it can be as simple as asking what someone means and reserving your judgement until you can see the situation from a better vantage point.

     

     

    Make Learning a Part of Your Life

     

    It’s pretty clear that increasing your knowledge can always be a good thing. The more that you know about the world around you, the more equipped you will be when you come across an obstacle that you can’t immediately cross. Challenge yourself and take on new hobbies that can be useful to you. If you can spend a few months doing something to sharpen yourself, you’ll probably notice that your attitude and confidence has increased over time.

    Colors Help Me Feel Balanced!

    I want to share a favorite practice I use for energizing and balancing the seven centers of energy in my non-physical body. Based on the eastern recognition of “chakras”, I call them my “non-senses”. Expressing them in color and tone leaves me feeling energized, balanced, and creative! I end up with a beautiful background planning, exploring, or transforming limiting beliefs guided by these seven areas! Watch and enjoy!

    Creating a New Memory

    It’s June 1st, 2023 and I’m staying in a hotel in Virginia, halfway between my brother’s house in Charleston, SC and my new homebase in Dayton, OH. It dawned on me, while basking in the cleansing sounds of a singing bowl meditation, that I’ve been dwelling on the memory of a traumatic and unhappy moment that occurred to me on March 3rd. Whenever I replay the moment when my supervisor fired me, I feel awful. My body feels all the tightness and wrongness of the moment.

    This morning, though, I asked, “What if that truly was a misperception? What if what I heard was that I was wrong, I was rejected, I needed to be humbled? What if Ray was actually thanking me, regretfully sending me off to a better situation, acknowledging me for taking a stand for excellence and humbly freeing me to receive a new and better-suited environment for my skills?” read more