“Walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet” - Thich Nhat Hanh
THESE BOOTS ARE MADE FOR WALKING
You may know I have set myself a challenge; to walk 2 miles every day over 30 days, aiming to complete 60 miles to raise funds for 2 amazing projects.
It has been a while since I undertook a challenge like this. And, aside from raising funds, there is a good reason why I do this kind of challenge in my life.
I have completed 7 days and wanted to stop today and reflect on why I do this kind of challenge, and how it benefits me.
The first part for me is the commitment. Making a conscious choice to do something everyday and then holding myself accountable when my mind wants to take me of course has an impact on who I am showing up as in the world.
Over the last ten years, I have been exploring who it is I want to be in the world. For the first 30 years of my life, I wasn’t always conscious of who I was, whether I was doing what made sense to me or following others without conscious thought. In my exploring I have found that I like being a person who is committed, kind, thoughtful, joyful and persistent. I like knowing when I need to hold myself accountable and when I need to let myself off the hook. I like knowing myself well enough to make conscious decisions that serve me, and ultimately, the world.
When I take part in a challenge like this, I learn more about myself. How it feels inside me when I have the thought ‘you don’t have to walk today, you can just catch up tomorrow’ and how it feels inside me when I make the choice to walk anyway. I made a commitment and it feels right to see it through.
The second part is what happens when I show up day after day to something (it doesn’t matter what that something is, it happens to be a 2-mile walk for me, at the moment. But it could be writing a blog, taking ½ hour quiet time, cooking a meal from scratch… the ‘something’ is less important).
When I show up, no matter the circumstances ~ I’ve walked in rain, wind, hot sunshine, with people, alone, flat walks, hill walks, circular walks, there and back walks ~ I find that something inside me wakes up. Not because of the activity (though the benefit in this case is it’s probably good for me!!) but because I showed up, I saw it through.
I discover more of who I am and choose more of who I want to be.
I used to believe I was someone who didn’t like walking.
I used to believe I was someone who didn’t go out in the rain.
I used to believe I was someone who cant be in my own headspace.
There are many things I have believed about myself and in doing a challenge, like this one, I get to discover that I don’t have to believe those things if they don’t serve me.
I continue to re-invent myself, every day, letting go of things I no longer find helpful and taking on news beliefs that I enjoy.
Committing to this challenge, on paper, looked easy… 7 days in and I have already had some big realisations about who I am and who I want to be.
There is more to come, keep checking in!!
With heaps of love,
Bec xx
PS, if you would like to know more about what I am raising funds for, check out my collection pot, here:
https://app.collectionpot.com/pot/sixtymiles/