July 5, 2020. Things were not as we thought they should be. Upon our arrival at Indian Lake, we quickly realized the prairie trail we planned to hike was completely mowed down. We’d specifically chosen the route so we could frolic in the flowers. Now…No more flowers. No more tall grasses. Gone. Only dried up, brown scraps remained.
Loss is hard. Change is hard. Especially when it comes without warning. Yes, the flowers will regrow in time. Likely all the more beautifully because they were mowed. Yet, in this moment, our plans, hopes, and expectations would not come to fruition.
Accepting what we cannot change can be hard. Accepting the things we can’t control….equally hard. Yet, without that acceptance, it feels so hard at times to move forward.
After lamenting the mowed prairie, we began accepting it and embracing it as it was. This did NOT mean we liked it. It DID mean we accepted our lack of control over the lawn mower and the resulting “bald” prairie.
Having moved to a place of acceptance, we realized we had choices. We could approach the “bald” prairie with joy and gratitude. We could make it a “grief walk” and use it as an opportunity to experience sadness (it’s okay to feel that too!). We could go home. We could hike a different trail. We had choices.
On this day, we chose to hike a different path. We reached a fork in the road. If we turned left, we would loop around the “bald” prairie. If we went straight, we would head into the unknown (is anybody else hearing the Frozen 2 song playing right now?!? Into the unknown—into the unknooooooown….nobody hearing that?!Just me?). We chose to go straight, into the unknown.
There is so much unknown these days. None of us knows completely what the return to school in fall will look like. Plans are being put in place but so much uncertainty and worry remain. None of us knows when our society will become a place where all people are truly free. In many ways, it feels like we are constantly walking through the “bald” prairie of life these days. In many ways we live in a time where things aren’t as we think they should be.
Today, I will continue working on accepting the things I cannot change, while changing the things I can. I intend to recognize that I have choices, even in the moments I feel really stuck. Sometimes the path I’m called to walk is different from the one I initially chose. As I accept that; I find beauty…whatever path I’m on.
KNEP Hikes 