Peace and Good Morning, Kind Creator,
Here I begin again, looking forward to my day. Thank you for my yesterday – time with my wife, getting outside on a trail, conversation with a new friend. Movement, appreciation, and connection. Valuable things.
The leader of our hike yesterday has over thirty years’ experience with the National Park Service. He shared his knowledge on a wide variety of information about the area we were hiking – the natural history, geology, and the effects of climate change on the local flora and fauna, as well as a lot of strategies and techniques for the outdoors.
He also discussed his years as a backcountry ranger in many of the premiere National Parks. How it’s that ranger’s job to get familiar with the land and learn the rhythms and patterns of his/her territory, and to notice when and how things change. He talked about growing connected to the land; so that, when walking a ridge for the tenth or twentieth time, wondering how it got there, what had to happen geologically and in growth succession to produce that ridge, and that forest. What animals live there, and how; and, which animals migrate through? How is that changing, and what is driving that change?
He talked about how spending that time with the land; walking its trails; eating, sleeping, and living out there; and seeing its seasons – The Web of Interconnectedness became visible, the threads began to be understood.
I heard the passion in his story-telling – passion for the land, his connection to it, and his way of life. It is something that began for me as I trained as a life coach. Hearing people describe their passions. Filling with Joy, listening to a person whose work is her/his calling.
I’ve felt it with teachers, woodworkers, artists, writers, coaches, financial planners… The list goes on and on. Seeing people, in their daily lives, comfortable with themselves and loving who they are.
It’s a funny thing, for me. Work was always that thing you had to do. The sentiment, and focus, was that one’s job was simply a means to an end. I see now the sense of scarcity and lack around that way of thinking.
As I trained, I listened in a new way. Where before I would hear the struggles and challenges, which all jobs have; now, I was first and foremost hearing the joy, delight, and satisfaction some people held, when they shared about what they did and why they loved it.
Too often, we tell ourselves we can’t do what we love. We tell ourselves we can’t, or don’t deserve to, be happy. Or, we decide not to do it at all, because we don’t think we’ll be great.
But, I think it can be as simple as giving ourselves permission to try something we’re curious about, or spending time playing at the things we enjoy. My ranger friend talked about starting to see differently after walking the ridge twenty times. That is an example of the clarity we get through deep practice, my friends. It’s not luck, or a born gift; it’s putting yourself where you love to be, doing what you love to do; just to feel that love.
Then, the Magic happens. You see things you hadn’t seen; hear things you hadn’t heard. You understand as you feel more and more a part of it.
It’s about Following Your Joy!
The Journey of Discovery – Thank You, Guides!
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