Dance…Sing…Play
I have a confession to make. Anyone that follows my writing and photography knows I hike. I have a deep love for the trails and forests that said trails meander through in the Smoky Mountains. But I don’t just hike…I dance. And since truth is a light I bear, I also sing and have been known to play one of my flutes to the creeks, trees, rocks, and today I played for a great blue heron.
It was a moment of flow, where the music of the water and the song of my soul came into harmony. I was smiling as I played in the blissful state.
Standing on a large rock beside the creek, I recalled feeling this open in Ireland when the wind was playing standing fence pipes and I sat in the lush grass in the 5000 year old stone fort and wrote in my diary: we are like flutes, with Spirit the wind and if we open ourselves, we can be in universal harmony and allow Spirit to play us, to move us. So….I was remembering that moment and feeling that inner flow and harmony when a beautiful great blue heron flew within a few feet of me on her way to a favorite rock somewhere upstream. There’s no way to capture that image other than with words and simply closing my eyes and seeing her fly, hearing the water and flute…feeling the Oneness of us all.
Magic happens when we can be in a place of neutral stillness, with no agenda, and just follow the energy as it arises within and around us. I have received a lot of guidance about being neutral lately, of not putting myself in a position against anyone, but being in neutral and allowing that stillness, that stillpoint, to unfold. If we hook into the chaos, we feed it. So it’s a balancing act of learning to be neutral, finding stillpoint within, and staying in that place. Maybe that’s unconditional Love.
My friend Katherine describes it like this: “True Love is Neutral. True love has no polarity. As we strive to seek that point of stillness, to hold that point of stillness as an anchor, a fulcrum, a central point of balance, around which the chaos of polarity can bring itself to Quiet, and fold itself into the same resonance of stillness…until there only exists the Neutral, the True Love.” I like her explanation. A lot.
Something special happens when I allow myself the freedom to sing, dance, and play my flute in these sacred places. I consciously acknowledge the spirits of the places, the pure essence of life, and allow myself to celebrate them and all life. There’s so much we have to grieve about in this time of chaos, but there is also so incredibly much to celebrate.
What has made you dance lately? What songs are you singing? How has your soul expressed itself? Find a way to celebrate the beauty, even as the old paradigm crumbles. Refuse to hook into the chaos because it’s counting on us to feed it with anger, hatred, and fear. Step away from that trap. Feed your soul beauty and share that experience with the world.
With much love I send this out into the world.
The Twelve Hikes Challenge
Over the course of 12 days away from work, I finished a goal I set to hike each day. I called my self-challenge, The Twelve Hikes of Christmas. Over the course of this time, I hiked a total of 57.63 miles and had an elevation gain of 9302 feet. No records, but that wasn’t the reason I did this.
I chose a word to describe each hike and this is what I ended up with, in order: Celebration, Foundation, Challenge, Beauty, Fun, Recovery, Reconnection, Adventure, Solitude, Expansive, Grief, Peaceful.
The overall takeaways from the challenge were: Setting goals helps me maintain momentum; Nature is the ultimate ‘everything’ for me; being able to adapt to changes brings joy.
I hiked easy trails, icy trails, challenging trails. I saw devastating loss of grandmother trees. Every experience was valued.
As I hiked, I worked on getting clear on my path forward and how I want to contribute to raising of consciousness on the planet. But mostly, I simply enjoyed being outdoors in places of amazing beauty.
High winds or icy conditions on the road through the national park hindered some hikes I envisioned doing. I didn’t get to hike a favorite trail I really wanted to hike. The one day I could have, I chose a new trail and found it might be a new favorite. Moving forward in life, I was reminded to trust my intuition and how things come together. It will be exactly what I need and want.
I have been in a magical world of Nature for 12 days, so the next challenge is to stay peaceful and grounded as I move back into the muggle world of a ‘job.’ Prior to my time off, I was struggling to go outside and walk after eight-hour work days. I need to prioritize going outside each day and enjoying Nature, no matter what. This is vital for my wellbeing.
| Day | Date | Location | Word | Elevation Gain | Mileage |
| 1 | Dec 21 | Oconaluftee River Trail | Celebration | 52 feet | 3.26 miles |
| 2 | Dec 22 | Deep Creek | Foundation | 243 feet | 3.51 miles |
| 3 | Dec 23 | Lonesome Pine | Challenge | 2454 feet | 6.88 miles |
| 4 | Dec 24 | Ramsey Cascades | Beauty | 2323 feet | 7.95 miles |
| 5 | Dec 25 | Jump Off—AT | Fun | 1588 feet | 6.55 miles |
| 6 | Dec 26 | Oconaluftee River Trail | Recovery | 46 feet | 3.28 miles |
| 7 | Dec 27 | Bradley Fork—Hitching Post Falls | Reconnection | 466 feet | 5.87 miles |
| 8 | Dec 28 | Deep Creek/Indian Creek | Adventure | 715 feet | 8.02 miles |
| 9 | Dec 29 | Oconaluftee River/Blue Ridge Parkway | Solitude | 194 feet | 3.11 miles |
| 10 | Dec 30 | Williams Pulpit Bartram Trail | Expansive | 1093 feet | 4.12 miles |
| 11 | Dec 31 | Asheville Botanical Gardens | Grief | 102 feet | 1.2 miles |
| 12 | Jan 1 | Kituwah | Peaceful | 26 feet | 3.88 miles |
The Twelve Hikes of Christmas
A while ago, I thought how fun it would be to hike every day I’m off over the winter break. You know…like The Twelve Days of Christmas, but hikes.
I’ve just finished Day 6 and feel like I might just complete it. Of course, there is rain in the forecast; but, luckily I have rain gear. And there is no rule that states I have to hike a long distance or a minimum elevation or so many hours. I simply want to make the effort to go outside everyday I’m not working and hike in Nature. Not a walk down my gravel driveway with the dogs, actual boots-on-trails hikes.
I’m not sure why I set the goal. Probably to shake up my life a bit and dedicate myself to something different and fun. Perhaps there’s a deeper reason.
The first three days were a bit disappointing in that the main road through the national park was closed due to snow and ice. I had to choose trails on the North Carolina side of the park. We have them, but my vision had been higher elevations and trails I don’t usually do as often. Regardless, I managed to have nice hikes near my home to start off the twelve days.
On the Solstice, I walked the easy Oconaluftee Trail, a 3.25 mile hike along the river and shared the trail with several elk. December 22, I did an easy loop at Deep Creek with 3.5 miles. December 23rd was a tough hike on Lonesome Pine Trail—3.5 miles steep uphill climb and 3.5 steep downhill…not a favorite but the view is amazing. Christmas Eve I hiked Ramsey Cascades and found it a delightful trail that is a new favorite. It was 4 miles up but not as hard as Lonesome Pine. The entire trail scenery was lovely and the ice and snow made it a very wintry wonderland. Christmas Day I intended to hike Alum Cave to the Bluff but the parking lot was full; so, I drove back to Newfound Gap and hiked up the AT to The Jump Off. This was a crazy-icy trail and microspikes made it doable with ease. It’s a challenging hike in places and I had a total of 6.5 miles. Then today, I did an easy hike again for 3.25 miles. My legs needed an easy day. Over the past six days I’ve hiked 31.5 miles. In those miles, I have hiked an elevation gain of 6700 feet.
The most elevation gain was Lonesome Pine with 2454 feet @ 7 miles (3.5 up, 3.5 down). This trail hurts me. Second highest elevation gain was Ramsey Cascades with 2323 feet in 8 miles (4 up, 4 down). The Jump Off gave a climb of 1588 feet in 6.5 miles (3.25 in, 3.25 out).
I didn’t intend to write this as a trail review or mileage-log; but, thought a few details might make it more fun.
I haven’t set too many goals in the last several years. I’ve turned into a go-with-the-flow kind of gal; however, I think the discipline involved in goal-setting is right for me at this time. There are other plans I am contemplating and doing a short-term project like The Twelve Hikes of Christmas is a great foundation for building more of the life I want to create.
One reason I’m writing and sharing about this idea is to hold myself accountable. When the rain starts, I don’t want to too easily blow off a hike. I mean…somebody might actually be paying attention.
Day seven takes me to the other side of the park, to a favorite river area. It’s supposed to rain, so there will be rain gear involved. And a smaller pack since it’s not a difficult trail. Saturday and Sunday look really wet so those days might be local areas of the park within a 3 to 5 mile distance.
Wish me luck, please! Not just for this project, but for other juicy things on the horizon.
Rockin’ Your Place in the World
At mile five of a seven mile hike from the start of *Kuwohi Road, I came upon a cliff face completely transformed. Over the usual craggy rocks was a massive display of icicles. Icicles….that doesn’t even begin to describe the immense columns of frozen water dripped and twisted into temporary stalactite formations. It seemed to stretch into forever.
I stood in awe at the pillars of frozen artistry and heard myself saying out loud: I’ve never seen anything so beautiful. You are amazing! You are rockin’ your place in this world.
And that’s what I kept feeling as I wandered past the ice arrays…the icicles were completely being the highest expression of what an icicle can be. They allowed themselves to be molded into the perfection of what they could be. Gravity, wind, and low temperatures sculpted their development and in complete surrender to those forces, unimaginable beauty was the result.
I eventually hiked on two miles past the field of ice and then turned back towards the gate and my car. By the time I reached them again, it was mile nine of the hike with five more miles to go before rest. But I had to stop and stand in awe…again.
What would happen if we, as humans, surrendered so completely to our beauty, to our destiny? It’s easy to set a path forward and forget the things that cause our heart to stir, the dreams we had about our path and force our way to fit in some box created by society…schools, families, churches, communities….that we are expected to stay in to be ‘successful.’ What would those icicles look like if there was a transparent box catching the dripping water? They certainly would look different.
So how can we get back to our soul’s promptings and surrender to them to become the highest expression of ourselves? We can start by reflecting on what we truly love to do and start practicing that, even in small moments. Drawing, painting, writing, singing, dancing, woodworking, hiking, photography…the list is endless. We can learn to listen to the small voice within that whispers and reminds us of what lights up our lives. We can ask, What makes my heart sing?
It’s never too late. What will you do to be the best expression of this beautiful life you have been gifted?
*Formerly Clingman’s Dome Road. It was recently renamed Kuwohi, the Cherokee word for the mountain…which means, Mulberry Place.