You’re standing at the light rail station waiting to complete the second
leg of your commute. Your mind is
already scrolling through your “to do list” and thinking “How am I ever going
to get caught up?” It is a morning where
your nexus of children are experiencing a meltdown with a lost shoe, tears over
a missing homework assignment, and disengaged frustration from your oldest
realizing they will be late to school one more time. You think in a nanosecond, scanning over this
scene, “I’m an intelligent organized adult.
How did I let this happen?”
You’re hiking in an open alpine meadow.
Lightning begins to strike the ridges around you. The beautiful mountain setting has now been
transformed into a place where your thoughts are of survival, not of inspiring
peaks and vistas. What should you do
now?
The choices you make to survive a
weekend lightning storm may say much about how you survive your Monday to
Friday. As beautiful as the mountains
are, you cannot escape the reality that Mother Earth is a bitch and she will
kill you if given the opportunity. There
are all sorts of seemingly simple decisions and actions one can make in the
wilderness that can lead to discomfort, injury, illness, and possibly kill
you. Making informed decisions,
following set principles, and practicing disciplined behaviors will enable you
to survive and even thrive in the wilderness!
These may include learning about weather patterns, doing daily cardio
workouts, learning form experts, and knowing how to properly utilize your
wilderness gear.
What is your Monday to Friday wilderness challenge? Possibly parenting an ADHD child, communicating
with a boss from Hell, feeling emotionally disconnected from your spouse/partner? Whatever challenge we have, we can choose to
just push through, give up, ignore or make the deliberate choice to seek what
is the better short and long term decision.
Our life, each day, is a gift from God and an invitation. God gives us an opportunity every day to love
and care for others by loving and caring for ourselves as well. What is something in your life right now
where God desires to guide you with His Spirit and provide help through the
care and knowledge of others?
Monday to Friday, make a choice.
Enjoy the sunrise, sing along in your car, find patience, be kind, learn
and grow, and love always. Saturday and
Sunday, do the same, but go hike on a trail somewhere!
