The Walk

I joined other consenting adults for a 25-km walk last Saturday. We all chose to wake up very early on a Saturday to walk. I was asked about the cause for the walk, are you guys raising money? Are you creating awareness of something? Are you guys okay or do you need to talk to someone? To answer the cause was for us, for our sanity and health, for connection with nature and other people, to tick a bucket list. 

If anything, I picked profound lessons. One is that life will be a series of choices. Every day you wake up thinking about the choices you have made or have to make. Some choices won't make sense to others but will to you. Make them. It reminded me of some crazy and daring dreams that I had that did not make sense to people but they were my dreams, which goes back to the quote, when God called you, it was not a conference call. 

When we started the walk, we started at the same pace but slowly everybody picked their pace. I was among the pace setters but nie reke gwere, there were two pace setters that had seemingly been sent to make us pant and paid to finish us completely. The rate and speed they were walking at seemed like a cross country to others and slowly, they led the way, others were left behind and at some point, I was left in the middle because I couldn't catch up. This was an amazing reflection on the fact that we may all start at the same point in life but our journeys are different. Pick your pace. You do not know the behind-the-scenes of each and every one. These two are professional hikers and walkers. Choose your pace, we eventually get there, where we need to be, keep doing something even if it is a small step. I tried calling these guys to wait for me, I jogged to try reaching them and eventually, I got tired and decided to pace down, and reenergize in the process as I made sense about my life. 

How I lost the speed and pace, was because of the calls I kept receiving from people who were late for the walk and needed to know our specific location. They derailed me until I decided, I would pick the calls as I walked because it gets to a point where you have to allow others to take responsibility of their choices without pulling you down. Is that not how life is sometimes? You are on your journey and you slowly get saboteurs and get derailed and sometimes it takes a toll on you. The little foxes, the past come in and without realizing it, you slowly lose yourself. You stop noticing the present, you actually do not appreciate the present. You stop appreciating the people in your life because of the weight that is pulling you down because honestly the team that I was with at some point slowed down their pace for me to reach and connect with them but I could not. But when I walked alone and got in touch with myself, I walked with the emotions, I felt like screaming at some point, but I got clarity. Well, there are days you will need to walk alone, it may be intentional or life pulls you there but there is a journey that you only need to walk solo. There is an amount of healing that you will only get when you walk alone. Eventually, I caught up with the team when the time was right. 

When we took our first official stopover, it reminded me of how rest is important. I am guilty as charged, I have not been resting as I should. I am walking on autopilot, with little reserved energy. I realized just how I had lost touch with myself.  Busy means that I do not get in touch with things. Busy is a trauma response. But in the rest, we made fun, enjoyed some banters, and made friends. Have a tribe, your people, a support system. Your tribe doesn't necessarily mean being with you when life is ghetto, it could be there for you when you enjoy the strides. 

Our journeys are unique, some joined in when we had walked for 12 km, others checked out when they had walked for 12 km. We have different capacities to handle life. Some started the journey after having eaten a heavy breakfast, and others survived on water. Others pushed themselves to the extreme. Some came for their physical health, and others needed endurance, and a number because this gave meaning to them. The moment we realize that everyone is on their own journey doing it how best they know how to, we will apply some empathy. Honestly, everyone is going through something but we rarely take time to get into their shoes, we listen how we want to and our way, we support how we want, we speak just how we want. A little empathy goes a long. The walk equalized all of us in the essence that we did not come with our titles, we came as we are and it made it easy making friends, learn. Sometimes you have to let go of the titles you carry and learn, you will meet people along the way, treat them right and pick a lesson. 

Happy November and join us on our next walk. I hope this month brings nothing but good tidings. I pray you find a brave space where you show up authentically. I hope you get people to carry you but most importantly I hope you realize your worth and if you are in a season, I hope the stars align for you.