Finding Awe
100 Miles into the 1000 Mindful Miles Challenge
When I started the 1000 Mindful Miles challenge, it was a personal goal to drip more of the natural drug of awe into my life.
But just 100 miles into this challenge, the awe that I thought I was going to find, by escaping alone in nature, has quickly become to mean so much more.
Finding awe has always been my cure. My fix. My addiction. My healing.
As a child I would wander to the river's edge and search for agates alone for hours. My thoughts would get lost in the sound of the water and the challenge of finding rocks that had been tumbled together for hundreds of years, creating layers of colors and crystals, that told a story of history, astonished me.
As time went on, that passion of finding awe took me to trails in nature and on countless barefoot beach runs (with plenty of bee and jellyfish stings on my feet to prove it). When life has hit it's most challenging moment, finding something real and beautiful in nature has always opened my mindset, humbled me, and has offered a raw space to feel and to heal.
What has been the greatest surprise in this 1000 Mindful Miles challenge so far is that the awe that it has added to my life, is not only the miles done alone, it is the community that it has created.
I am in awe with Samuel, who hikes his miles in the cold snow and writes soul-felt poetry. I am in awe and inspired by Kelly who meditates through her miles and utilized the challenge to be more mindful in all areas of her life. I am in awe of Jon who bikes his way through Santa Barbara every day, sharing the miles with friends and utilizing them for deep conversations and connection. And Craig, hiking through the bush in Australia and connecting with his kids. And, I am in awe with finding Douglas through these miles and the special morning walks with Pacha and Roxie. And this, is just to name a few...
100 miles in, 900 miles to go. This journey is just beginning and as Dr. Seuss says in Oh, the Places You'll Go, "You're off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so... get on your way!"
Thank you to all of you who are a part of the 1000 Mindful Miles Challenge, and for those that would like to join, sign up and start today!
