Quote of the Day: “When everything seems like an uphill struggle, just think of the view from the top”. Author Unknown
From Waking the Warrior Goddess: Custom # 6 Eat exotic Asian foods such as maitake mushrooms often.
Today we hiked through a slot canyon outside of Indio, about 40 minutes from out hotel in Indian Wells. The rock is quite a bland color- nothing like the red rock in southern Utah but once we got inside the canyon, the rock formations were amazing to look at and wonder when and how they were formed. A terrific event occurred causing the rock to move from out of the earth, water coursing through this stone to round and design the formations. The trail wound through and up the canyon with ladders (some old and wooden and some aluminum) where you climb from one level to another. Your view and vantage point from each level was different and showed a different perspective which makes a great analogy for life.
When you looked up there was this desire to see light and blue sky shine through to the canyon below. You didn’t feel trapped or lost if you could see the light and felt secure because you had a sure knowledge there was a way to make it to the top. From the top, you could see where you had been, saw the value of the journey on your life and were grateful for the struggle you had made to get there. You could look down the slotted canyon, and see other people making their way to the top- in the same position you had once been in. You understood that all must pass through these canyons to get to their destination. Furthermore, you could see the value of the journey on your character and understood that without those bumps, bruises, cuts, and falls you would not be able to live an enlightened life. All of us are moving at different speeds through the canyons of life, we all are given different talents.
When you’ve been told you have a disease like cancer, that might take your life, it makes you look at life differently. All the sudden, you look at all the things you took for granted everyday that you don’t want to lose. You think of all the things you have been able to participate in life and wonder “Will this be the last time I participate in this event?” Will I be the statistic that is cancer free in a few years? You realize how much you want to spend time w/ the people you love and not much else really matters.
“I hate that this cancer has taken away my innocence at looking at the world more positively. ”
I agree. All sorts of negative events or bad experiences jolt one’s sense of innocence and self-confidence. Wild, out-of-the-blue events disrupt our lives, some more than others. It is the human experience, I suppose.
Great blog. Keep up the writing.
Tom