I stroll, I speedwalk, I jog, I run, I hike, I exhale! I breathe in all the lessons nature wants to teach me. I open myself fully, vulnerable to the chirping of birds, the breeze blowing, trees swaying, the sound of water from a stream nearby and the brisk, intoxicating, fresh breath of the outdoors. There is nothing quite like it. Nature at it’s finest. Nature is therapy in its own right and I marvel at the beauty of it all.

On one of my many strolls on my favorite trail, with many walkers, runners, bikers constantly passing me by as I stopped to admire the sights, I discovered a profound lesson I would like to share.

Just as in walking the trails, so it is in the pathway of life…

If you stop moving, even the walker at the slowest pace will eventually pass you by, so find your own steady pace but keep moving.

Keep moving when it seems like you are not making progress.

Keep moving even after setbacks.

Keep moving even after disappointments.

Keep moving even when the path is a little hazy.

Keep moving! Keep Moving! Keep Moving!

Your small steps are still movement in the right direction.

Don’t be discouraged by the many strides in your journey.

The race is not for the swift or the strong but the one that endured to the end. (Ecclesiastes 9:11)

Steady wins the race turtle said!

Have you heard the story of the tortoise and the hare…The hare is very confident of winning, so it stops during the race and falls asleep. The tortoise continues to move very slowly, but without stopping and finally, it wins the race. The moral lesson of the story is that you can be more successful by doing things slowly and steadily than by acting quickly and carelessly.

Keep moving and don’t try to chase or overtake the other runners. You’ll get overworked by the journey of striving in your own strength- you will begin to resent the journey.

You will miss the enjoyment of the journey.

The journey is for your learning as well as your enjoyment so keep a steady pace but make it YOUR pace. It’s tempting to ask questions like-How did they get so far ahead of me? Why are they going faster than me? Why am I in this lane? But these questions are irrelevant and will affect our mental state in a negative way. It’s tempting to try and keep up with other people’s pace as if life were a competition, but being the best version of ourselves requires us to live life at OUR own pace. We all do not get to start in the same place. We are all dealt different cards.We start out at different places and at a different pace. The important thing is :

Your journey is your own

Each person’s destination is different from your own so don’t judge your current position based on someone else’s place in the race of life. Don’t let your pace or position define or discourage you. It does not determine who you are or where you are going. Your start, your pace, your position, your destination-it’s all very specific for you.

Every day, every morning as the brisk air graces our nostrils and we step out into the sunlight we get the opportunity to start fresh-to start over. Deep breath in, close your eyes, exhale slowly.

Can you feel it? The internal calmness of knowing that you get to run today’s race at your own pace, taking in the sights, embracing the journey -the process, breathing in new opportunities and exhaling endless possibilities.

Today, you keep moving!

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~Still Becoming~

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