if you just believe

the warning says, "muddy/not developed trail; drop to 300 ft may hurt; classified medium to difficult hike but view is fascinating"

when i saw this, i changed my mind instantly about wanting to go hiking despite the supposedly beautiful sight at the end of the trail. why, i cannot even climb up the stairs at the mall without cursing when the escalator is not working!

besides, when did i ever survive a long walk, mud or no mud, without slipping? errrrr... never??

but just when i was about to back out, 12 yr old daughter announced that whoever won’t go shall be tickled until tickle doesn’t tickle anymore?! oh geez.. that was my cue to just get on the track and dearly hope that being used to hours of walking when shopping would pan me out.

so goes the song in my mind: “a hiking we will go, a hiking we will go, hi-ho the dairy-o a-hiking we will go!”

in between the singing, i had to halt a good number of times because i dropped my butt on the ground more than i can count with the fingers on my two hands.. yap, much like the frequency and cycle of my aches and pains day in and day out - as one frustration ends, another begins. when it is forgotten, a different problem comes along. and so on and so forth with the loop. often, there is no sign that i can handle the hurdle. only faith in my heart that says, “ trust you will get by IF YOU JUST BELIEVE ”.

my conviction springs from the message in harry potter, the movie : it is not our abilities that show what we truly are; rather, it is our choices.

ay, this is a sneak preview of what i should remember in my daily struggles : that i may come unprepared but i have all that i need : a choice to finish.. that i shouldn’t doubt, for this, too, shall pass.. that i will fall repeatedly, but i can get up the same number of times next.. because life is like a difficult trail -- muddy and not developed, every drop will hurt, but the fascination is worth it.

and it is true with this hike as well, which i finished alive and most importantly, saved from the tickle :-)

by the way, the view, as promised, was a beauty!

i should do another one.

a s l i f e g o e s o n..