“Nature will bear the closest inspection. She invites us to lay our eyes level with her smallest leaf, and take an insect view of its plain.”   ~  Henry David Thoreau

Photo taken on August 22, 2014 on the Art Loeb Trail in Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina

“Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than those you did.
So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from safe harbor.
Catch the wind in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”  ~ Mark Twain

It is tempting to ease into a comfortable nature in life. There is comfort in remaining on schedule and checking items off your agenda on your personal calendar. Society often follows the belief that spontaneity is something only the young can do, since it can be seen as foolish and too carefree for “professional adults.” Mark Twain called BS on that. And I do too. Throw away the day planner, embark on a journey away from your safe and comfortable waters. The journey will be worth it. Discover what life can be– for it is always changing and always will be.

Photo taken on July 13, 2014 in the Historic District of Apalachicola, Florida

“Love blurs your vision; but after it recedes, you can see more clearly than ever. It’s like the tide going out, revealing whatever’s been thrown away and sunk: broken bottles, old gloves, rusting pop cans, nibbled fish bodies, bones. This is the kind of thing you see if you sit in the darkness with open eyes, not knowing the future.”  ~ Margaret Atwood

Photo taken on July 11, 2014 on the beach at St. George Island, Florida

“Your journey has molded you for the greater good. And it was exactly what it needed to be.
Don’t think that you’ve lost time. It took each and every situation you have encountered to bring you to the now.
And now is right on time.” ~ Asha Tyson

Being on time has never been easy for me. I try to live in the moment, and when that moment encounters a distraction, I convince myself that the distraction will be a worthwhile sidetrack. And, they are. Those sidetracks become situations that bring adventure, entertainment, love, and excitement into my life. But then, one morning, with no effort, I woke up in a different decade. I turned thirty. I didn’t feel very different. I didn’t wake up old and tired from the struggle of moving through some great passageway to adulthood. But I did wake up to thoughts about the distractions I encountered in my twenties. What had I done? Why hadn’t I done more? How was I in this place at this time?

So I climbed out of bed and I hiked. As I began the climb up to a high mountain point, it quickly became evident that the trail would not allow me to go straight up. There was no direct route. I would be required to zig zag across the mountain, sidetracked by different trail elements before slowly making my way to the final destination: the peak. On the long path up and around, I enountered delicious fresh berries on a vine. I witnessed bumblebees playing and pollinating the wildflowers on the edge of the trail. It became exciting and fun to see what “small joy” I would find around the next turn.

Before too long, despite the sidetracked joys on the trail, I arrived at the peak. I took a deep breath and it struck me– answers to the jarring questions that had awoken me hours before. I have done so much. I have so much time to do so much more. I am in this place at this time for a reason. And, though I may have a final destination in mind for my life, there is no direct route to get there. In fact, those sidetracks only make me the person I need to be. On the hike back down, I felt much lighter on my feet. How refreshing to be right on time for my thirties.

Photo taken on August 22, 2014 on the Art Loeb Trail in Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina