Dear 962,
There are things I need to tell you. Things that I am afraid if I don't write down, that our lives will just get too busy and chaotic and I won't ever be able to have these conversations with you. I don't know why I feel like this. Maybe it is the week we have had with Open Houses, homework, wanting to play outside and the just plain craziness of the back to school routine. You are growing too fast!
There was a time not so long ago that children sat at the feet of their elders and listened intently to the stories they told. There were no computers, internet, or television. This was how our history was passed down. It was tradition. This was how children learned the lessons that would carry them on when their loved ones weren't there to keep lifting them up. This is how their character was built and the wisdom of guidance transcended time. Things are not like that now. I wish it were. It seems like such a simpler time. So instead, I write to you. I write to you now when you are small, and growing, in the hopes that my words will help you to navigate the paths that lay before you.
First and foremost, you must choose what paths you are going to take in life. This is not a one time choice either. The paths criss-cross and loop back around all the time. Sometimes paths that we take as children seem to be gone and then as adults they sweep back in and are a little harder to navigate than before. They are steeper and filled with more ruts and roots that trip us up. But we have to keep getting up and dust ourselves off and just keep trucking forward. For if we stop, because it is easier, we will miss out on all the views up ahead or exciting things on the path just around the bend.
And you must be there to encourage each other. To listen to the struggles you each are navigating and be each others' biggest cheering section. Don't discourage or judge. Judging is easy when you are not the one walking the path. Instead, step along side your brother or sister and walk with them, or rather go behind them and give them a gentle push forward when they don't have the strength themselves. We all need a little push sometimes when it all just seems to be too much.
Secondly, remember that your view on that path, and other peoples' view is not the same. That is okay. We don't all see the same picture the same way. Our perspectives change with time and the situations we are going through. Some people have heavier loads to carry on their paths. They haven't chosen these loads yet they are theirs to carry. Situations in life make their lives harder than yours. Perhaps it is illness, or divorce, or the loss of a loved one that makes them weighed down. Their paths always seem to be filled with stumps and slippery slopes that bring them to their knees. Be mindful of that. These people are not bad people. Their paths are just different from yours. Walk the path gently with them. Realize that if you had to carry their loads, you might decide to stop walking too. It is just too hard. Be encouragers to these people. You never know when your backpack will be swapped out with theirs around the bend. We can't always choose the path or the weight we carry.
However, there are a second set of people. There are those people who CHOOSE to carry heavier loads than they need to; this affects everyone around them. Why they do that I don't know. Those are not your burdens to carry, but it affects how they see the great views along the way. They don't always see the beauty of the moment because they allow their load to burden them down and take away the joy of the journey. It is very sad, but it is true. You can't always just avoid these people on the path of life either. It sure would be easier that way. They are there along side of you, and sometimes obstructing your view. They have a toxic nature about the world around them regardless of the natural beauty and blessings before them.You have to decide how to deal with these fellow hikers.
For me, I have decided to just keep going. I have decided that life is too short, the journey too beautiful, and the exquisiteness of what awaits too exciting to want to miss. I encourage these people, and lift them up, but if they choose to stop, or continue seeing the stumps in their way because they can't or won't pick their heads up to see the beauty around them, I can't change that. Their burdens are not mine to carry, and most times they wouldn't let me if I could. They like feeling weighted down and complaining about how heavy their load is. All I can do is encourage and embrace, and lead by example as I continue to walk the path set before me.
Sometimes that path is lonely. It may seem you are the only one walking it. Or the darkness of the unknown becomes unsettling. Shadowy things threaten to pull us backward. We wonder if we have made the right decision, or we we mistakenly took a wrong turn. But I think that is when we are growing the most as hikers in life. Those quiet times when we are alone are not always comforting. We second guess ourselves and are willing to sit and stop and see if someone will come along and walk with us.
But we must keep going because up ahead there will be a bend in the path, with a beautiful new view. The darkness will become light and things will become clearer. The beauty will be astounding and the memories fantastic. And sometimes there will be other hikers there sitting for a while and waiting. For they too needed the encouragement of seeing someone just keeping on. You will be that person for them. You will walk together and have a wonderful time. But other times, you will just turn the bend, and still be alone. However the view will be amazing. You will see it and it will change your outlook. You will think to yourself, "Wow, I almost missed this!"
I look forward to hiking the journey with you, my loves. You are the reason I keep going on, marching the march of the momma I am. Here is to many more views; the more fantastic the better.
--Your Hiking Momma
There are things I need to tell you. Things that I am afraid if I don't write down, that our lives will just get too busy and chaotic and I won't ever be able to have these conversations with you. I don't know why I feel like this. Maybe it is the week we have had with Open Houses, homework, wanting to play outside and the just plain craziness of the back to school routine. You are growing too fast!
There was a time not so long ago that children sat at the feet of their elders and listened intently to the stories they told. There were no computers, internet, or television. This was how our history was passed down. It was tradition. This was how children learned the lessons that would carry them on when their loved ones weren't there to keep lifting them up. This is how their character was built and the wisdom of guidance transcended time. Things are not like that now. I wish it were. It seems like such a simpler time. So instead, I write to you. I write to you now when you are small, and growing, in the hopes that my words will help you to navigate the paths that lay before you.
First and foremost, you must choose what paths you are going to take in life. This is not a one time choice either. The paths criss-cross and loop back around all the time. Sometimes paths that we take as children seem to be gone and then as adults they sweep back in and are a little harder to navigate than before. They are steeper and filled with more ruts and roots that trip us up. But we have to keep getting up and dust ourselves off and just keep trucking forward. For if we stop, because it is easier, we will miss out on all the views up ahead or exciting things on the path just around the bend.
And you must be there to encourage each other. To listen to the struggles you each are navigating and be each others' biggest cheering section. Don't discourage or judge. Judging is easy when you are not the one walking the path. Instead, step along side your brother or sister and walk with them, or rather go behind them and give them a gentle push forward when they don't have the strength themselves. We all need a little push sometimes when it all just seems to be too much.
Secondly, remember that your view on that path, and other peoples' view is not the same. That is okay. We don't all see the same picture the same way. Our perspectives change with time and the situations we are going through. Some people have heavier loads to carry on their paths. They haven't chosen these loads yet they are theirs to carry. Situations in life make their lives harder than yours. Perhaps it is illness, or divorce, or the loss of a loved one that makes them weighed down. Their paths always seem to be filled with stumps and slippery slopes that bring them to their knees. Be mindful of that. These people are not bad people. Their paths are just different from yours. Walk the path gently with them. Realize that if you had to carry their loads, you might decide to stop walking too. It is just too hard. Be encouragers to these people. You never know when your backpack will be swapped out with theirs around the bend. We can't always choose the path or the weight we carry.
However, there are a second set of people. There are those people who CHOOSE to carry heavier loads than they need to; this affects everyone around them. Why they do that I don't know. Those are not your burdens to carry, but it affects how they see the great views along the way. They don't always see the beauty of the moment because they allow their load to burden them down and take away the joy of the journey. It is very sad, but it is true. You can't always just avoid these people on the path of life either. It sure would be easier that way. They are there along side of you, and sometimes obstructing your view. They have a toxic nature about the world around them regardless of the natural beauty and blessings before them.You have to decide how to deal with these fellow hikers.
For me, I have decided to just keep going. I have decided that life is too short, the journey too beautiful, and the exquisiteness of what awaits too exciting to want to miss. I encourage these people, and lift them up, but if they choose to stop, or continue seeing the stumps in their way because they can't or won't pick their heads up to see the beauty around them, I can't change that. Their burdens are not mine to carry, and most times they wouldn't let me if I could. They like feeling weighted down and complaining about how heavy their load is. All I can do is encourage and embrace, and lead by example as I continue to walk the path set before me.
Sometimes that path is lonely. It may seem you are the only one walking it. Or the darkness of the unknown becomes unsettling. Shadowy things threaten to pull us backward. We wonder if we have made the right decision, or we we mistakenly took a wrong turn. But I think that is when we are growing the most as hikers in life. Those quiet times when we are alone are not always comforting. We second guess ourselves and are willing to sit and stop and see if someone will come along and walk with us.
But we must keep going because up ahead there will be a bend in the path, with a beautiful new view. The darkness will become light and things will become clearer. The beauty will be astounding and the memories fantastic. And sometimes there will be other hikers there sitting for a while and waiting. For they too needed the encouragement of seeing someone just keeping on. You will be that person for them. You will walk together and have a wonderful time. But other times, you will just turn the bend, and still be alone. However the view will be amazing. You will see it and it will change your outlook. You will think to yourself, "Wow, I almost missed this!"
I look forward to hiking the journey with you, my loves. You are the reason I keep going on, marching the march of the momma I am. Here is to many more views; the more fantastic the better.
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