Victory Bells

I'm going camping this weekend, with my duplex-neighbor. We've become good friends over the last month or so, following a short-lived bat invasion to our little hippie house. Fighting unwelcome bats truly has the power to bond people!

We're going up north, along Lake Michigan. I am thinking warm thoughts, like he said, and imagining being all cozied up in layers, including the double beanies, and swigging hot apple cider on the beach with a color-popping sunset. I want that color-popping sunset, and I want to laugh a lot.

It's so nice to connect with someone new. I find myself telling stories of times that now feel so far away, and noticing my growth, how far I am from those versions of me. There is something satisfying in the internal awareness of growth. Hidden in the breaths taken between storytelling, and the moments after new words slip past my lips, it's these moments that ring my inner victory bells. I've won inner peace and joyous, loving thoughts regarding myself and others. Then the conversation continues. I know it's not a trophy that I have on display, but a continuous practice-- the price I pay for happiness! And then the conversation just, carries on.

Perhaps this is a part of my transformation into the future-focused person I desire to be: Noticing growth and allowing its sweetness to linger as long as possible, while simultaneously allowing the unfolding, the moving forward. There is really no reason to look back. These moments of victory creep their way in, naturally.

So I am excited to camp somewhere new, with someone new, and see a color-popping sunset. I am looking forward to reading the final book of a trilogy I began in January, on the beach. Making smores with gluten free graham crackers and exploring the natural beauty of Northern Michigan. Welcome to fall!!

I plan to bring Freckles, a leopard beanie baby I had sent off to travel the world for a first or second-grade project. I will take photos of him eating a smore, lounging warmly on the chilly beach, and propped on my head. I will create these little, fun, beautiful and sacred moments, as I often do. And I will laugh a lot. I will look for reasons to feel good, and I will find them. I will continue my daily meditation and I hope to dance around the fire with the new friend I've found in my neighbor.

Peace and love, happy autumn, happy Friday, and happy weekend :)