This was my second consecutive year leading hikes for Wanderlust Stratton. Last year, I was brand new to leading hikes, and I had never walked the mountain trails. I showed up with all of my insecurities and my not-good-enoughs. My first hike was 8am on Thursday, and it was kind of a disaster. I got lost and ended up walking my whole group to the Wanderlands campgrounds (that’s pretty far away from where we were supposed to be). Though it may not have seemed it to anyone else, I felt like I had failed.
I showed up this year a whole new yogi. I’d been working on myself, big time. I knew the trails, I knew what I wanted to cover. But, halfway through the weekend, I got sick. Ears throbbing, sore throat, things-aren’t-looking-so-good-kind-of sick. Unlike last year, this year I didn’t care. I didn’t let any obstacle stand in the way of my leading and I didn’t let myself worry about any better alternative universe where I felt amazing leading 40 people up a mountain.
I’m so grateful that I didn’t let my insecurity get the better of me this weekend. I could have and I did last year. I still did a great job, but it didn’t feel joyful. The reality is: In life there will always be a wrong turn, a fever, a lost pair of shoes, a SOMETHING. We always have the choice to let that derail us.
Or, we can choose just to continue having a great time and doing our best in any given moment. We can trust that that’s enough, and that our hikes will still be badass, sweet and memorable. Because it isn’t ever about being perfect, it’s just about being who we are right now. A now experienced hike leader, a yoga teacher, a dog mama, a beautiful soul in the midst of a beautiful world.
Enough. We are all already enough.
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Elizabeth is a yoga teacher and artist in Fairfield County, CT and creator of Love by E handmade mala and jewelry. She teaches in workshops, special events and trainings in the North East. She teaches smart and accessible yoga and she loves every minute of her work. You can find her writing and her teaching schedule on her website.