Day 11

Today took me back through the streets of Boulder. My old stomping grounds. A place that will always hold a special piece of my heart. I watched the soon-to-be college graduates, with their whole lives ahead of them, jealous for a moment, until I realized, "Hey! My whole life is ahead of me too!" Yes, I have left more behind than they have, but that doesn't minimize what is yet to come. I am just as excited, if not more, for what I have to look forward to. But I also understand that happiness doesn't arrive when I get where I am going. It's here now. All I have to do is embrace it.

I talked to my family about my plans to walk across Spain and part of France. I realized that although I am doing this for me, I am also doing this for my nieces. I want them to know - to BELIEVE - that anything is possible. There are no limitations in this lifetime except for the ones we place on ourselves. I want them to reach for the impossible, and once they have attained it, to reach for something more. No fear, no regrets, no holding back. This journey is for me. And this journey is for them.

I feel the true beginnings of the letting go process I need to complete in order to accomplish what I have set out to do. It makes me happy. It makes me content. I am at peace.

"Participate in your own rescue." ~A rafting guide on the Arkansas River