Free Falling

Originally started at the Valley of Fire, Las Vegas, NV and finished today :) 

 Grateful for this life, full of family, friends and love

Life is a journey; a constant flow of nature and change.

Through the mountains and mystical rock formations, I succumb to a feeling of pure peacefulness.

I traveled a lost road for most of my life, always waiting until the path would clear up, making my way visible.  I would wait on pins and needles, anticipation rising, in hopes that I'd find my way.

The moments I've thought I understood life, were always instances when life as I knew it, phased me. I was lost and I didn't know how or when I'd make my way out of the rabbit hole I was trapped in, for so long. 

Photo: chadstuemke.com

I figured out however, that most of us in this world fall off the roll coaster of life.  We worry too much; think too much; stress too much; fear too much; and question too much.  It's as if we all walk this earth in search of answers, waiting impatiently for them to arrive. 

Sure I fall into that category of people more often than I'd like.  But I'm learning more than ever, just how valuable and important our one life is.  The importance of living life as if it were literally going to end tomorrow, speaks louder to me as I age.

I grew up in a small country town, where everywhere you went you would run into someone you knew, someone who knew your parents, or a friend of a friend of a friend.  Still to this day, no matter the years that have gone by, it happens every time I go back home.

It's both incredibly crazy and wildly amazing to me, how much has changed since I left Uvalde in 2007.  I'd like to say that my journey has been easy, but that would not only be a lie, but impossible as well.  However, leaving Texas, for me, has been the best decision I've ever made and one I have never regretted.  Sure I miss home from time to time, the few friends that have still remained a part of my life, and a family I miss more with each day.

Yet no matter the distance, growing up (which I'm still doing) has taught me how to finally live the life that I want to live.  My past has always been my greatest evil, lurking behind every corner, calling for my attention, desperate to come out.  

However, I feel that finally making peace with my past has saved my life.  Oprah Winfrey once said, that in order to truly forgive, you must let go of the idea that you wish your past could be different.  I encourage everyone to pay attention to that.  It's so true.

Although change may not always be my best friend, I welcome it more with open arms.  Nowadays, I find myself in a place where comfort and love live and a world in which I am free to be me.  Growing up is never easy, but it never should be. 

In the beginning; that's me in the middle

I've learned along the way that the best feeling in the world, is when you can finally realize, just how amazing you really are.  

When you do get there, all the trips down the rabbit hole, will have been worth it, I know they have been for me.

Let your mind be challenged, your spirit be free, and your heart be full of love