Time marches on. Here one second and gone the next. People scurrying about their lives not taking a moment to slow down. We get irritated when someone takes an extra half second at the green light, but when we look back, there was nothing gained by having that extra half second. We actually lost more time and energy by being irritated with him than we lost by sitting that extra half second. Keep reading
Why do people put “Do Not Climb” signs up? Surely it’s not because we have this strong inner urge to climb on rocks. Or do we? Seeing a rock makes us want to climb on top of it. But since it’s not allowed, we just suppress the urge and move on with life. We keep squelching it until we become numb to it. But, we don’t need to suppress it! Keep reading
You get out of the car and stretch a bit. Your muscles feel a little achy and you’re just a little irritated about how long it took to get to the nature park.
At the edge of the parking lot is the sign that marks the trailhead. As you walk closer you see the pegs along the rail with another sign that reads:
WORRIES NOT PERMITTED
LEAVE ON PEG AND FORGET THEM IF YOU’D LIKE Keep reading
In just two weeks we went from feeling on top of the world (almost literally as we stood on the mountain looking down at the Delaware Water Gap) to an emergency situation with my mom in the hospital and having to take care of my dad and my handicapped sister. Needless to say, we were a little shell shocked. Sending our oldest two sons back off to college, juggling the responsibilities of two households, harvesting and putting up the produce from two gardens, and still trying find time to make a living. Not really much time for hiking the past couple of weeks. But there has been a good bit of time for some serious reflection on what really matters in life. I’d really like to tell you we’re doing alright under the circumstances…but I can’t. Keep reading
It’s hot. It’s humid. I don’t know about the rest of the country, but summer has arrived in Indiana. You go outside and feel like you’re getting licked in the face by a yak. July is worse for motivation then February is for new year’s resolutions. Seriously, I worked up a sweat just writing those last few sentences. If I actually got up off the couch, put on my exercise clothes, and walked out the door I just might melt…literally melt from the buckets of sweat pouring from my body. Okay, okay. So maybe I’m overexaggerating, but it is hot. Keep reading
I know I’m probably alone here. I realize that I have a problem unique unto myself, but I’m going to put myself out there on the off-chance that there is someone out there that suffers from the same affliction that I do. So here goes. I understand my need for exercise. I am aware of the benefits of said exercise on both my physical and mental well-being. But when it comes to actually exercising, I’m…well…unmotivated. There, I said it. I lack the motivation to do that which will only benefit me in the long run. (Did you see what I did there?…”long run”) Keep reading
Have you ever set a difficult goal for yourself and when the going got tough, asked yourself, “Whose idea was this anyway?” This has happened to me several times in my journey to lose weight and get in shape. In a perfect world, all my progress would be forward; but the world isn’t perfect and my self-discipline wavers, causing me sometimes to go two steps forward and one step back. I had found myself in a step back a couple of months before our trip this summer, and the thought of all the hiking we planned to do on our trip was giving me the motivation to move forward again. I knew I needed something challenging to work towards, and the hike that I was the most excited about was hiking from the North Rim to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. I needed to get in shape! Keep reading
Not as in “get lost” or “go away.” I actually mean take a hike. Let’s face it. There is a broad spectrum of interpretations that flood the mind when someone suggests taking a hike. For the enthusiast, this conjures up a gamut of emotions ranging from excitement to downright euphoria. For the person less enthralled with venturing into the great outdoors (or physical exertion of any kind, for that matter) this suggestion ranks right up there with waterboarding and electro-shock therapy. So, I’ll give you a few of the things that hiking means to me and why I like to hike. Then, you can make up your own mind as to the what and why of the enjoyment that hiking brings to you. Unless, of course, you’re a slug. In which case, you won’t enjoy hiking. Mainly because it takes forever just to get where you need to go and you often get squished in the process. Typically by overzealous hikers! Keep reading
Well, the latest craze to take the nation and the world by storm is here. I know you have all been dying for the next big thing. The wait is finally over. I think this has taken all of the life cycle of a butterfly to turn into full-fledged hysteria. I know for me personally, I heard about it less than a week ago, and as of this morning it has over 100 million users. So not to be left in the technological dust storm that is Pokemon Go, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and explore all of the benefits of this new frenzy before it is cast onto the ash heap of discarded phone apps. The list is going to be extensive, but try to keep up. Keep reading
I had allowed myself to become the proverbial stick in the mud. I didn’t feel like doing anything, or going anywhere. I had no energy. I was content to sit at home and read a book – and eat, of course. My fat clothes were stretched to the limit and I was going to have to buy a new wardrobe or do something, what that something was, I didn’t know. I looked longingly at commercials that said “if you just buy this pill, you can lose weight without changing your diet or exercise.” I gazed with envy at friends who didn’t have a weight problem, wondering why it was so “easy” for them. I was even tempted to go into network marketing (although I am a terrible sales person) just because people on Facebook were doing it and losing weight while promoting their products. I felt stuck and thought, “I just need to accept that this is my new reality and be fine with it”, but I couldn’t. Finally Michael said Keep reading
