Walk in a National Forest

One of the things that I learned the most throughout the duration of this trip is how much I genuinely love spending time with myself.

Photo of rocks surrounding a little steam with moss

A lot of people are afraid to spend time with themselves because of the thoughts that they have or anything that makes them uncomfortable. It’s easier to mask that when you’re around other people. When you’re able to spend genuine time with yourself, especially after therapy, it isn’t too bad being able to navigate through those conversations to find ways to make corrections.

Even though those observations that your brain is making are just thoughts, not you. There are still parts of yourself that might need a little healing, might need a little bit more attention, or honestly, you may need to find someone to talk them out with.

At the end of the day, you can talk them out with yourself, with a friend, with a therapist, with anyone who feels like a safe space to you. As long as you get it out, there’s so much less control that it has over you, so much less, as NF would say, so much fewer "balloons" to fill up.

The more that we’re able to connect with nature and the life that is truly around us. Wanting us to be grounded in ourselves, to dig roots deep down, so that we know truly the magic that we have within ourselves, that’s the base of our existence, or at least should be.

A rushing stream with rocks throughout

I grew up walking around in my backyard picking up sticks, piling them into a big burn pile. I grew up with animals and nature, and honestly just using nature around me to get me through whatever I was experiencing throughout my childhood. And yeah, a lot of the times I did have my siblings there to not feel alone in it, but I realized once I stopped doing that and spending time in nature or spending time with my siblings, that’s when it got really dark inside myself.

And yes, you can say, well, you had this and this going on, so it’s okay that you got dark inside yourself, and it is.

I truly think that community and having conversations with strangers are important. I’ve met some of the most authentic people that I will probably ever meet throughout my lifetime when I’ve been traveling solo, and I’m so thankful for these new penpals in my life.

Sides of a mountain with trees and a sky

Once we’re able to reestablish that mindset of community, we, as not only a country but as a world, will be able to start healing, stop fighting, and honestly go back to our root purpose in this world, which is to be loved, to give love, and to just feel blessed that we get to be here for however many days our physical bodies will allow us to be.

Always remember to be kind to yourself, be kind to your physical body, and love your physical body no matter what shape or form it is. You can always make changes. You can always do things to make you feel most comfortable within yourself. Always choose that.

You have one time on this earth with this physical body, so do what you need to do in order to feel comfortable. Be exactly who you are.

Another stream photo with a path off to the right with some rock features.

Don’t worry about other people; their judgment is mostly about themselves and not about you. At the end of the day, remember to love yourself, give lov

e to those around you, even if they may not deserve it, and be kind to nature. Leave things better than you found them, and don’t be afraid to talk to strangers.

Obviously, take that with a slight caution, but as long as you’re in a safe space, you’ll be in the right place at the right time.

Never give up on yourself.

Thanks, friends.