“It makes you wonder. All the brilliant things we might have done with our lives if we only suspected we knew how.”
Why 40 Hikes before I turn 40:
Part 3 - Embodiment. Whatever that Means
Not knowing / not thinking i could do it. being so tired at the 1.5 mile mark being fine at the 4 mile mark. the thought of not having any where to go but forward.
My body has tharted all my best lain plans. Through some sort of upper respiratory curse it had very throughly commended, “No socializing for you.” At least that’s what I assumed it was saying.
The phrase, “The answer is not out there,” was what I actually heard from… where? From whom? We’re just going to ignore that still small voice because we all know that hearing voices is the first step toward to… something scary. At least that’s what a lifetime of the televisions being on in the background has taught us.
Because of the “Cough which cannot be stopped”, I am not at some “Young-ish Professionals who want to Further Good Things” luncheon. Instead, I am at the public library. Loud, wracking, persistent, coughs are equally as unappreciated at the library as they are some networking event but the folks there tend to be much nicer so they glare a little less icily. I’ll take it. The walls of my house have grown tall and I feel the aforementioned fuzzy sock energy coming to take me away, if I don’t get out of my own head.
I pick up a book because it is pretty. A cover that looks as if someone put it together via collage.
This One Wild and Precious Life.
It’s official: I judged books by their cover.
*I haven’t talked much about physical fitness. In part, this is because I am most definitely not a doctor and have no intention of giving out medical advice, even unintentionally by saying, “This is what my body is capable of doing,” quietly implying that yours should be able to do the same.
Additionally, I don’t want this to be about physical capacity. I want my goal of making 40 hikes happen by the time I turn 40 to inspire you to push your own boundaries, in whatever way that potentially looks: reconnecting with 20 old friends, choosing five half finished craft projects and actually completing them, saying “yes” to Friday night plans once a month for the next six months… It’s the notion that a personal challenge that makes you semi-uncomfortable is, very frequently, worth attempting.
Here are the trail details:
Butterfield, Fitzgerald, Best Trail Ever, and Coyote Caves Trail Loop, Springdale, AR.
6.57 miles
Hiked: August 10, 2023.
For more information: Check out my notes on AllTrails for the Butterfield, Fitzgerald, Best Trail Ever, and Coyote Caves Trail Loop, Springdale, AR.
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