BE Wherever YOU ARE!

Yesterday, the day after our first snow storm of the season, I was out enjoying the "loud silence" of the woods.

I was on what I called a "Reconnaisance Mission". That's the way I framed it in my head. It made it fun! I hadn't slept great the night before (just ok). Between that and the mess outside, I wasn't sure a run would be able to happen. After my morning client sessions I thought, "I'm going to get my boots on and do a 'reconnaisance mission' of sorts, to see if I COULD run on a day like this, or maybe tomorrow. Then I'll wander in the woods a bit."

That shift in perspective had me looking forward to getting out there! After lunch, out I went. I quickly realized on the way to the woods that I had made a good decision in not running that day. It was pretty messy and slick in some spots.

The picture above is the start of my hike in the "loud silence" of the wood's yesterday. I say that because it's true; after a snow storm or significant snow fall, there's something that makes the peacefulness and silence EVEN more prominent out there. It's awesome! It makes me smile. Something else that made me smile - Notice the track along the trail? That's from a fat-tire bike. Someone had ALREADY been out taking advantage of the early winter weather. Cool. I recognized they must've been out early that morning because just inside the entrance to the woods, you could clearly see where the person had got on their bike, but their tracks were lightly covered with a dusting of snow. In the woods (as you see above), where the trail is more protected, the track was pretty clear. Good for that person! Early morning ride in the snow. I smiled again.

Even the forest wasn't ready for the early storm we got. This picture absolutely does NOT do this scene justice. The colour contrast of white, yellow and green was amazing! You don't see that every year because often the leaves are already UNDER the snow. This year, the snow took down more leaves from trees who just weren't quite ready yet. In doing so, it created this beautiful canvas of colour for me, very early into my wanderings. When I rounded this corner on the trail, the snowy ground was nothing but yellow polka-dots made by the fallen yellow leaves (way more than in this picture). It was bright, vibrant and gave you this warm feeling despite wandering in the snow.

If you didn't notice above, throughout my hike there were all kinds of "mushroom shelves" scattered in the trees, topped with snow. Again, I smiled. Why? It doesn't matter. When simple things make you feel good, happy and make you smile - do yourself a favour; Don't analyze it. Don't question it. Just LET IT BE and ENJOY IT.

I wandered along the trail and off the trail, up some slick steep hills and along flat snow covered paths. Where was I going? Didn't really know. How long was I going to go there for? No clue. It just didn't matter. It was that FULLY PRESENT experience where you're just where you are, and that's all that mattered in THAT moment. I sat on a downed tree after brushing off the snow and pulled out my field notebook to jote a few things down, including my "Reconnaisance Mission" details (i.e. Good thing I didn't run today 🤣). It was the kind of temperature that Canadians love; Snow all around, no wind and warm enough I probably could've worn a hoodie with a couple layers underneath and been fine. I do love those days this time of year.

After my notes and more wandering, I wanted to share the green here amongst the white canvas. You don't always see this. Again, the colours were so bold and bright compared to my picture (thank you budget phone). It was so cool!

When I returned home, I had been out for nearly an hour. Was that good? Sure. Did I plan to be out that long. No. I didn't have a plan, other than GO. And that was totally OK!

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That's my point in sharing this post. Today we OVER-SCHEDULE, PLAN 99% of our days and life, and we do almost everything with a set of expectations going in (good or bad).

How often do you just LET YOURSELF BE IN THE PRESENT MOMENT?

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How often do you just WANDER and GO, without intention beyond that?

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How often do you LET YOURSELF get lost in beauty of the simplest things?

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How often do you LET YOURSELF get OUT there, instead of hunkering down into what you KNOW will be comfortable, rather than even the slightest discomfort?

We carry so much weight and stress through our days BECAUSE we DON'T ALLOW ourselves these moments. They don't "have to" be an hour of your time. They may be just 5-minutes... OR they may be LONGER than an hour. Either way, the POWERFUL and POSITIVE impact on your health and wellbeing will be the same over time.

REFRAME things to encourage yourself to do something, as I did with my "Reconnaisance Mission".

MAKE IT ENJOYABLE. We lack the ability to LET OURSELVES ENJOY things anymore, because we're too busy comparing our every move to EVERYONE else's "enjoyment".

PRACTICE letting things be, as they are, in the moment you are in (no more, no less). This is an example of mindfulness and is a wonderful reminder that you don't "have to" meditate to BE mindful in whatever you choose to do.