Day 1,312 – Finding Joy in the Journey – Monday – 6/7/2021
Work hard Play hard
I am very much a work hard and play hard type of gal. It’s how I have lived much of my life and in a lot of areas it has served me well. Though I’ve also learned that work hard and play hard is not always the only answer. Sometimes you have to put on the brakes and slow down.
Over the past few weeks, my right elbow has been bothering me. Most likely tendonitis from golf and yoga. Since it occurred, I’ve just pushed through and kept doing what I was doing. Though today after a conversation with my yoga teacher, we decided that may not be the best decision. Sometimes work hard and play hard can make things worse, not better.
I still took my yoga class though did some modifications (changed chaturanga to cat/cow) and skipped wheel (even though I can finally get into it!). It wasn’t easy and part of me felt like I wasn’t pushing myself. Though I knew in this case, I needed to listen to my body more than my “do more” brain. By slowing down, it will actually speed up my healing. I’m curious, what is one area you have had to slow down to actually speed up?
About “Finding Joy”
And I’m off…. the 16-day adventure begins. The timing of this trip is interesting so I’m naming it “Finding Joy in the Journey.” I’ll be doing one dedicated post each day (at the end of the day or next morning). Since I typically post more than once a day, you’ll find it as a black and white photo. I’ll share the joy of the journey (on the trip or through this season), where I’m finding it and what I’m learning. I hope to inspire myself along the way. And if I can inspire others too, that would be a gift. So let the journey begin…
It was November 2017 and I was ready to head off on a sixteen-day trip. Nine days before leaving, my mom unexpectedly passed away from a heart attack. It shook me to my core. I had always been told the 40’s are the best years of your life. And in a matter of three years, since turning the age of 40, I had gone through a divorce and lost both parents.
I contemplated canceling the trip though I knew my mom would not be happy with that decision. She would want me to continue living my life. My parents did not raise me to sit back and watch life; instead to fully participate in every moment. So I promised my parents to find joy in the journey everyday on my sixteen-day trip and share my experience with others.
Little did I know what “Finding the Joy in the Journey” would turn into when I acted on the prompting to share my experience on a daily basis. It helped me see life differently and my wish is that it will inspire others find joy in their journey.
