Becoming

 

Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.
-Howard Thurman

 

 

 

In August of 2010, I sat on top of a pass in the Sierras, half way through the John Muir Trail with one of my closest friends.  I gazed out at the high alpine lakes and realized, or really – awakened to the truth – that something had to change in my life.

I had a job I loved.  Passionately.  Even obsessively.  But, I was giving more away than was good for me.  I, me, I was depleted. And I knew it, but didn’t know it, until I sat on top of that pass in the high Sierras, under the blue, blue sky.

I didn’t want small.  I didn’t want my life to being one of saying yes to everything but me, and saying no to life. I wanted to be alive, to feel alive.

So, I took off and spent a year traveling (if you’re here, you probably read a little about that). I took risks and said yes, to me, to new adventures. I climbed mountains and fell in love (and then out). I met new friends and had new food.  I lived.

And then, that year ended. And I moved to NYC.  And that was different.  And good.  So damn good.

Here I am – 5 years later after sitting on top of that pass in California – and I’ve created exactly the kind of life I want – full of friends and community and adventure and love and happiness and laughter and dancing and goodness.

And tomorrow?

I’m going to Patagonia – with that same good friend I hiked the John Muir Trail with.  We’ll spend just under 2.5 weeks hiking the Torres del Paine circuit and then doing another trek and … hopefully seeing pingüinos!  Living exactly the life I want, doing what I dreamed of…

 

And my life…. it’s hard to believe, but each day it becomes more and more perfect.  Each day, more worries are shed, more fear is shed, and …. it just becomes more and more fun.

The exact life I want.