Slowly Unfolding

"Time does not change us. It just unfolds us."
— Max Frisch

I was fortunate this morning to walk with my friends Dan & Ali. (by the way, Ali writes an awesome blog called Henbogle…the link is on the list below and to the right) During our walk I mentioned that now that I am almost 40, I'm getting to the point of not caring what others think and just 'walking to the beat of my own drum', as they say. This certainly has not happened overnight, but has been a very slow process. Being able to simply be myself and being able to do what I want, even if I do look silly, is liberating.

This past March my hubby & I were in the Bahamas, and right along the beach we were staying at there was as company offering to take people parasailing. I was a teenager that spent a lot of time waterskiing, and I have dreamed of parasailing for years and years....and so I finally did. It was amazing. Floating high above the water, seeing parts of Nassau I couldn't see from down on the beach was wonderful. It was so peaceful up there, and strangely quiet. Although, the best part for me was that I stepped beyond the boundaries I had set for myself long ago. I don't look like the person you would visualize parasailing and until recently, not looking the part, would have certainly held me back....(or in this case, would have kept me on the beach)

I have a new 'sport' that I have just recently been doing called 'Nordic Walking'...which is basically walking with modified ski poles. Nordic Walking is an excellent way to work your entire body because you use the poles to push yourself along...your arms, shoulders, back & abs are getting a workout along with your legs. There are enough benefits to Nordic Walking to forget about just how silly one might look. I was quite nervous about going out for the first time on the street here in our little town with ‘ski poles’ in the middle of June. Somehow though, my ‘drum beat’ was playing just loud enough in my head that I was able to push through the embarrassment...although...I only have one route so far...haven't dared to venture outside of this comfort zone yet. When I find the volume button so that drum plays a bit louder, I'll unfold the map and see where else my poles will take me.