A Step At A Time

Photo by Tobias Mrzyk on Unsplash

On a chilly morning, my descendants woke up to join me for a mental health walk organized by my organization, Haven of Dreams, Cycle4fun, and critical mass. They knew it was just a 4KM hike, and Mama was okay with it, besides, they are physical. We had already done several hikes and walks with them before. We joined the rest and we had all different types of people. The pace and type of music and familiarity determined the groupings to a large extent.

The hike that was to take two hours took around 10 hours.  But we started with motivation, determination, and all our strength because we knew it was a short distance. We finished the snacks by 11.00AM. We pushed ourselves and got lost along the way. Emotions ran high. People fell down, well I did. We shared snacks, and as with most hikes, we pushed ourselves out of our comfort zone. Some were determined to figure out their own paths, go solo and leave the rest of us alone. We all finished the hike at different times. 

 

Isn't that life? We may all start at the same point, but it does not necessarily mean that you will end at the same point or at the same time. I picked lessons that I feel compelled to share about life and mental health. Find your tribe who will walk with you and believe in you, and support you. This was probably one of the craziest hikes because I was physically and mentally drained. I almost gave up along the way, but I had people cheering me on, and I could not have left my children in the crater. I had people who gave me water to drink when I finished mine. My girls had finished their snacks before the 'real' event started. Their feet got tired, but they had people carrying them and sharing their snacks. When we got stuck, we had people giving directions. 

It is okay to understand your limitations and press the pause button. In life, there are moments you have to pause and take stock as well as recharge. There is no competition. We are all not coming out alive anyway. Some people recharged sooner than others and that is okay. Stop name-calling people because you feel they have stopped too soon, you do not know their story. They will rise up again. Take time to recharge from a busy world that seems to only reward business. Take time to reflect, to love yourself, to change the cause of your life. Take time to understand who you are and get rid of toxicity because you cannot keep living in survival mode. And when we all reached the peak everyone had to figure out how they would get to the homes. There comes a point in life when you have to let go of the crowd and find your path. I hope you take care of yourself enough to know that this is your solo journey. 

And, while I picked several lessons, allow me to write down the last one. Not unless you walk the path, you can never where it pinches and hurts most in someone's life. Only the guys who went for the hike can tell their story. Before being the know-it and telling people of things that they should have done this or that, step in their shoes. You will never understand the pain of someone. You will never know the magnitude and just because you have been there before does not necessarily mean that the experiences are the same, that is why we are unique. Finally, we all reach our desired destinies, the most important thing, pick the lessons from the experience. I know when I will go for the next hike, I will prepare in advance, I will probably pack an extra t-shirt, snacks, a raincoat, and a power bank and, definitely have liquid cash. And as it is with life, you should pick lessons, stop trusting too much, take care of yourself more, boundaries. But above all, live, love, and laugh. Life is for the living. Get out of your comfort zone, pick and drop people and guard your heart. Love and light to all of us. Your mental health matters. A step at a time.