Courageous & Strong
“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage” - Anais Nin
Life is more fun when we live courageously and it is through our experiences that we build character. We must summon courage when we try something new or do something that frightens us. Life creates opportunities that challenge us to fully express who we are and these experiences are often “defining moments” in our life. Standing up for ourselves and for others, or for what we know is the right thing to do when others don’t are all courageous acts. It requires a tremendous amount of courage to follow our own star, be creative, or embrace the unknown as an adventure! Being vulnerable, dreaming big and believing in ourselves are yet other examples of living a courageous life!
How do we harness courage when we are feeling afraid or uncertain? Using the power of our intentions, we can move forward with grace and determination. Accessing the creative force of affirmations, we support the subconscious mind in believing “we’ve got this” and this can be very helpful. Becoming clear of the vision our heart is showing us when we deeply listen, we can use our imagination to create an empowering story that creates a path forward. And, sometimes it can be easiest to focus on channeling inspiration we get from others who are living courageously. Most of all I think we must stop thinking so much and questioning everything and just jump in…. The surprise of full immersion will be refreshing! Fear builds up and blocks energy…. Releasing that, we will free ourself!
I consider myself to be a very courageous and strong person. Because of this, I feel bewildered and unsettled when I am feeling afraid. Fear is not an emotion that I identify with very readily…. Yet, when I am aware of myself feeling anxious, holding back or procrastinating on something, I often will eventually realize that some amount of fear, or trepidation, is playing a role. One thing that will sometimes help in this case is thinking back over my life at those times when I was especially courageous….. like the time I embraced the experience of a five day solo backpacking trip into Desolation Wilderness. I was in my 20’s and I did this as a preparatory adventure before heading off to explore Mexico, Central and South America with the only agenda of following my bliss each and every day! I had saved up $20,000 and packed up my life in San Francisco so I had no overhead or bills to worry about. I felt unbelievably free! I didn’t even have a cell phone payment to worry about. I had been dreaming of doing some extended traveling my whole life and here I was finally embarking on the “journey of a lifetime”….. I told my family and friends I’d be back sometime between five months and 5 years. I have many stories that reflect me being extremely courageous during those 8 months I was traveling… but….. Back to Desolation Wilderness…..
“I had checked in with the local park rangers who said I was getting a late start and may not be able to make it to the first destination backpackers usually sought out, so they pointed out on the map a small lake that was closer and that only “the locals knew about”. It was late afternoon by the time I got to the trail head at Emerald Bay State Park, my entrance point into Desolation Wilderness. My pack was filled to the max at 60-70 lbs (bad idea) with my travel guitar strapped to the back. As I organized, gathered my stuff and started off, I noticed that the clouds were rolling in and the wind was picking up. The foreboding winds made me slightly nervous but I didn’t give it too much thought. The first 2 miles were straight up hill and must have taken me at least 3 hours. I was not feeling especially in shape (easily fixed with a few days hiking in the back country!) and with that weight on my back every step felt difficult and the journey ahead very daunting. I remember walking literally only 10-20 steps at a time before pausing to “take a break”, where I would unload everything and take a breather. It was painfully slow going!
By the time I got up the hill to where the trail had leveled out, the sun was setting and I was tired. I wasn’t seeing the trail that would veer off to the place where I could set up a safe campsite for the night. As I went on, I begin to question where I was headed and when I realized I was suddenly going downhill I knew I had definitely gone too far so I turned around and backtracked. Dusk was upon me and the wind had picked up more… the mountain air was cool and the sky blustery. The trail I was looking for didn’t seem to exist and I was beginning to wonder if I should just camp on the side of the trail, but it felt very exposed up there. After a very long time of walking back and forth and feeling very anxious and alone, I finally chose to explore an over grown rocky ditch that eventually lead me to a faint trail. When I saw the small lake through the trees I was so relieved I could cry. I made my way down towards the water stumbling upon a small flat area on the steep hillside that was perfect for my tent. By this point it was almost dark and it felt rather stormy. I was so relieved to find a good spot and so tired I didn’t even eat dinner that night. I set up my tent, threw my food bag into a tree so it was safe from bears and dove into my tent. You can imagine how active my imagination was that night with the trees howling above me and my tent almost rolling off the ledge I was perched on …luckily it wasn’t raining! “This is crazy! What am I doing here alone! Whose idea was this anyway?” I was thinking to myself as I hunkered down for the long night. “Oh, right… it was that trickster, Coyote, that suggested this was a good idea! Why did I agree?” I thought to myself as I read the letter He had sent with me to read on my first night solo. While I felt frightened, I also felt very alive and excitingly brave! I didn’t sleep much that night!
In the morning, when I crawled out, it was a quiet, calm, sublime morning in the mountains…. clear deep blue skies greeted me, birds were singing, the sun was warm and lovely beaming in rays of light through the canopy of tall trees surrounding me… It was beautiful! I ate a hearty breakfast, packed up, and I hiked 15 miles that day to my destination, a lake where I camped for the next 4 nights. I spent these rejuvenating days swimming, hiking, reading, napping, dreaming, and simply soaking up the serenity of the mountains. When I hiked out of the mountains 5 days later I felt fantastic… light, strong, accomplished, connected, relaxed, present in my body, alive in my senses… It’s a remarkable experience….. backpacking in the wilderness! It’s time I do another solo backpacking trip… I never want to lose the gumption it took for me to make such an excursion. I remember the 75 year old man who camped near me for a couple of days on that trip. He told me that he and he wife usually make a 15 day backpacking trip every summer, but that this was the first year she couldn’t make it so he was doing it alone. He also told me that on the first day of his journey he had slipped and most likely cracked a rib but he wasn’t letting that stop him! I was so inspired by him. I thought…”Wow, if he can do this alone at 75 years old with a cracked rib, what do I have to complain about? I can do this!”
I Am Liscia, Courageous & Strong!
“This Beautiful Light of Mine, I’m Gonna Let it Shine”
Choose Expansion! Be Courageous! Let Your Beautiful & Unique Light Shine Bright!
Artwork Below Created by Christina Brittain
Check out Christina’s creativity offerings, coaching sessions, poetry, and coloring books that are inspiring for all ages!
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