A Shift in the Course

“I am not what happened to me, I am who I choose to become.” –Unknown

Everyone longs, everyone seeks, everyone grieves and everyone can heal. What we may not realize is that walking is a vehicle that allows us to move through this process. To walk consciously is a daily meditation on being present with our feelings, thoughts and desires.  When we walk, our emotions are the most powerful generators of motivation, our thoughts inspire us, and our desires are the yearning to experience ourselves differently.  When we honor these forms of inspiration, we are led on a journey that, if we pay careful attention, can alter the course of our lives.  

It was 1984, and the first time I remember intentionally walking by myself for myself.  At twenty-four, young and courageous, I was longing for a direction in life. I yearned for a purpose and career which would be fulfilling, and I knew it was time to shake things up a bit.  Within 6 months I set out on my first personal pilgrimage, in the mountains of Nepal where I learned to let go.  The course of my life shifted profoundly because of the choice to leave, go and walk.  

The first most profound step on a personal pilgrimage is powered by emotion and the yearning to experience oneself differently, the Longing.