Like sands through the hour glass, these are the days of our lives...

This week I've repeated many of the hikes I've already done. This has been somewhat challenging, because there are no surprises. Going in, I already knew the difficulty level, the parts I like and the parts I dislike. So, I have found myself hiking with my head down. Many of the trails, if not all, have some sort of sand element in them. Sometimes the sand is not very deep and kind of hard which is easy to walk through. But many times, the sand is deep, soft and a pain in the neck to walk through. Not only is it hard to cover distance quickly, it fills your shoes and crowds your toes and you have to take short, choppy steps to make it through. I have found myself staring at the shoes walking in front of me. So, instead of getting to know names, I've come to know some people as, "blue Nike's", or "black Adidas", or "old white tennis shoes". I noticed some shoes were worn more than others, some people preferred hiking boots and others running shoes. I noticed some shoes had stickers in them and some shoes had worn souls only on one side. It's what I didn't notice that finally caught my attention and caused me to think.


I noticed, that I knew way too much about every one's shoes and not enough about the people wearing them and, the places they were taking us. I was so focused on the never ending, deep, brutal sand that I simply forgot to look up. When I finally did look up, I noticed the most beautiful rock formations, canyons, plateaus, desert flowers and blue-blue sky. I could see way far away in the direction we began and way far ahead to where we were going. I could see peaks we had climbed and others we were about to. It's amazing what looking up can do for your vision! Simply put; I could see the beauty, feel my surroundings, look at people in the eyes while conversing and enjoy what I thought would be a redundant experience with a new perspective.

This caused me to think further, of course. How much of my life have I spent looking down? Have I been too focused on the trail and not my surroundings en route to my destination? Have I stopped to take pictures and build great memories for me and my family along the way or have I rushed us through, as quickly as possible, following the shoes in front of me and cursing the path?

I have met some great people here. The fine line between friendship and ignorance of someones existence is always intriguing to me. Week to week, I can look at all the new people that come in and make a judgment based on what I see or hear in a few seconds. And when I open my mouth, say hi, and get to know them...they become my friends and very quickly, I find my judgment was mostly wrong. I have made friends with many people and got to really know a handful. I have been hanging out, hiking, running and laughing with a fellow that was invited to play on the Canadian National Rugby team, a gal the worked in the Bush administration, a gent that was voted America's Most Wanted police officer of the year, a single mom who works her tail off as an RN in NYC and has lived in multiple countries, an educator that is also a rapper and artist and so on, and so forth. The thing we all have in common is that we are here, working on a weakness. We came here alone, but found that it became easier to do it together by learning from one another. I have learned from all of these people. I have learned from the experiences, trials and victories from their past and our experiences together here. I have learned at least one thing every day here that will help me throughout the rest of my life--in every aspect of my life. I am grateful for this opportunity. I am grateful for people. I am grateful for the deep sand that strengthens my legs, the hills that test my lungs and the view when I remember to look up. Along with work, there should be joy in the journey!