Ground into Reality

We all need a place to come home to. This is a space where we ground down into reality. We decide what our choices are and what direction we want to head in. Each choice makes or breaks a connection. By grounding down into reality, we remind ourselves where we are and why we are here.

My priority is love.

I love my daughter, my partners, my parents, and my friends. I love my job and my housing. I love my creativity and the connections I make.

Anda at the Giant Sequoia Grove

If we look at life in the span of a tree, we gain a perspective of priority.

When we can see our legacy as a Mother, and Lover, and friend, we are able to understand how our choices affect our responses.

There are times in our life where our responses change. Or that of a love one changes. Or both at the same time!

Love means being able to see the soul of the one underneath the choices that is having a hard time.

It is harder to love when you yourself are having a bad time.

A way to flow is to find comfort in the uncomfortable.

This will pass. When it does, will I enjoy being on the other side?

If the answer is yes, stand your ground.
If the answer is no, make a different choice.

Your power is your choice, Beautiful Soul.

Standing among the Giant Sequoia trees made me feel like I could breathe a little deeper, stand a little taller, and move a little farther.

Hugging a tree, and then twenty more, I felt rejuvenated.

Alive. And Free.

A Day of Firsts: Glacier Point and Tuolumne Grove of Giant Sequoia Trees with Kevin

Glacier Point Road opened on July 15th for the season, and here it is two weeks later and I still hadn’t gone up to see what all the fuss was about.

Turns out, the fuss was well deserved. The Glacier Point Vista is magnificent! You look down on the valley like you would a finely detailed model. Before you stands the largest and most unique monoliths in the world as well as not one, but two gushing, long flowing waterfalls.

My partner Kevin came up to stay for a couple weeks and we decided on Glacier Point Road and Tuolumne Grove of Sequoia trees for our Yosemite Adventures.

We drove an hour and a half to Glacier Point to walk around for about forty-five minutes. We took pictures of gorgeous views. Saw Vernal and Nevada Falls from several different angles. Got a whole new perspective of Half Dome. And then felt oddly unsatisfied as we sat down with our ice cream pops.

As we sat remarking at the ease of this view with very little effort for the reward, a gentleman with a firm fit and gray hair walked up from the four-mile trail. He was a little out of breath, but glowing with accomplishment and adrenaline. “I made it,” he said.

I took his picture at the trailhead and chatted about the park. As our new friend left with a smile, Kevin said, “That view will mean more to him because he had to work for it than to us where we just drove up.”

I had to agree. I didn’t feel like hiking up the steep four and four tenths of a mile four mile trail today. But I will one day.

Today we went to hike Tuolumne Grove of Giant Sequoias instead.

The hike to the Grove was down hill, so the way back was a test of endurance. The reward was worth it. The Giant Sequoia trees are awe inspiring. They tower over you with this grace that can only be mastered by the winds of time.

The entire philosophy that this story began with developed within these majestic trees. I feel inspired to connect with others as I connect with nature. This grounding helps me feel calm and capable, which makes me confident.

Kevin reminded me on our walk back from the Grove that this is reality. Here, among the trees, breathing in the freshest of oxygen, is reality. Which is probably why I feel so good when I hug a tree. I ground myself in reality by spending time in nature and appreciating the many ways we are connected to the earth.

It was such an amazing afternoon together. I had never been to either Glacier Point or the Tuolumne Grove and now I’ve experienced them both with someone special to me. What a wonderful day of firsts, together! Now I feel content and joyous, ready to start another week.

“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.”

Albert Einstein