The Winds of Change

Each time I run on a trail, no matter how many times I have been there before, it is different.  From one day to the next, week by week, new flowers bloom while others die, trees lean and fall, creeks swell and lower.   These changes are what makes each run a new and delightful experience, much like the changes in our life.  If everything were to stay the same, we could never fully appreciate what we have.

Four years ago I met up with an incredible group of trail runners that introduced me to the forest.  Not the "occasionally I go camping" forest, or the "lets take a hike with the kids" forest, but the miles and miles of rocky, hilly, muddy, sticky, quiet forest where you can run forever, because it goes on forever.  You only need to stop when you get tired, but even then you can sit down, have a drink, eat a sandwich, and continue running.  It is limitless, boundless, and beautiful.  And that is what my friends showed me.  It is like a well kept secret that anyone can know but few can understand.  And it is beautiful.

Deep and dark, or sunlit and sparkly, the trails are always holding a surprise.  Yet, even as they change, the trails are comfortingly familiar.  Excitement lies in what might be ahead, but at the same time, you know that there is always a way back if you venture too deep, or ever want to return to where you came from (if only for a little while).  It's not hard.  Because the trails, just like the Evil Sisters, will be ready to open their arms and welcome you back whenever you want to come back home.

Love to Evil Sisters Rhonda and Beth....as they take the path less traveled.