I have lived a thousand lives in my 52 years of life. I have weathered so many different storms. I am the person who does not back down. Rather I gather all my strength and push on tougher than ever.
This determination, a grit so deep, is my lifeline. In a world that can be callous and cruel I have learned the art of finding glimmers to get me through the darkest and toughest moments.
Fear will not stop me. Anger will not stop me. Depression might set me back a moment or two, but that is it and no more.
I developed this grit through a life lived hard. Many lessons were learned from hiking the high peaks of New Hampshire. Lessons on determination, strength, patience and acceptance.
As a caregiver for my husband the tides come in threatening to pull me under, but the mountains call to me to remind me of the lessons they have taught me.
Find your footing….they roar through their winds.
Use the cairns to find your way through the storm…. they cry through the fog.
Don’t give up, you are almost at the summit…. comes the faint whisper through the snowstorm raging at the summit.
The hike up can be dreamlike—drifting through snow-heavy trees that look like a Dr. Seuss illustration, whimsical and hushed. But the beauty belies the storm raging above the treeline. The moment you break through the alpine trees to the exposed summit, the world changes. As the wind begins to roar, the question shifts from ‘Isn’t this beautiful?’ to the ultimate test: Do I turn back to the safety of the pines, or do I take the chance and push for the summit? Do I turn around? Or do I trust the grit I’ve spent 52 years building and take the chance on the summit?
At this point I take the chance, because life is too short. I am confident. I am grit.
My life lessons come from my interactions with my natural surroundings. I am one with nature down to my soul. I am made from the ocean, I am strengthened by the granite.
