walk the walk

You've probably noticed that I recently started posting after a year-long hiatus.  The reason for that is (drum roll, please...) 

Life.
Got. 
Challenging.  

I'm not one to pour my heart out on a blog, but put it this way:  the years caught up with me.  I felt like I was asleep for most of my young adult years and I just now heard the alarm.
 
Now that I'm in my mid-30's (still scary to see this, by the way), I feel like I'm getting things together.  I'm reaching for goals that were on the backburner for so long, I'm taking care of me for the first time in my life, and I'm finding my true passions (writing being one of them...)   It took me too long to get here.  And I know I still have a ways to go.

You know how I did it?

Walking.

They say a journey begins with a single step - my internal journey literally did.  One day I was so bogged down with upcoming deadlines, too many errands and commitments, and just overall stress that I decided to head to my local park.  I needed to get out of feeling trapped...both literally and mentally.

Here's the thing:  I'm not a fast runner.  I'm not even a fast walker.  Add insult to injury:  I don't drive very fast, either.  It  was also extremely cold on that day.  But I didn't care.  I put my hood on and walked at my own pace. 

What did I discover?

• Looking up is worth it.  During my walk, I avoided making eye contact with anyone - so much so, I fixated on the ground.  For some reason, I decided to look up...and my perspective changed - almost instantly.  I now make a concentrated effort to look up everytime I'm outside.  When you think about the vastness of the sky, the moving clouds and swaying tree branches, you become fixated.  Believe me.

•  People can be great.  Of course, you have your occasional psycho.  But people can be really amazing if you look closely.  Once I saw an elderly man struggling to get across the street.  Cars patiently waited.  A child fell down.  A stranger ran over to see if he was okay.  Someone dropped their cell phone.  The person behind her ran and returned it.  Sometimes we are so busy looking at the bad side of humanity that we forget to see the good.

•  Everything happens in its own time - and life goes on as it should.  What I mean is, wherever I am in life, it's subconsciously where I want to be.  And, it's where I'm supposed to be.  I think I mentioned in a previous post that the winter was brutal here in New York City.  It even snowed last week...close to the end of April.  Yet, there are blossoms in the trees.  The grass is getting greener.  People are getting out of their homes and out into the world.  It's bound to happen because it's supposed to happen.

So if you are like me and feel like you are falling behind - you aren't.  That job that you didn't get?  It wasn't the right fit.  The guy that dumped you?  He did you a favor.  No family on the horizon?  You may not be ready yet.  See where I'm going with this?  I know life isn't easy.  We are all given our share of challenges, but if you are persistent, great things are possible.

Oh, and here's what happens when you finally decide to look up:

simplistically yours,
xoxo andrea