appreciation

Have you ever felt this way?

Sometimes I feel a fierce need to be in a different place. To refresh myself with things I’ve never seen or experienced before.

I traveled a bit last year, but nothing has taken my breath away like my trip to Scotland and England in 2011. I literally stood and gaped at an inordinate amount of stunning views. I wanted to ask someone to pinch me, but I didn’t want to wake up. I remember saying aloud, “I’m here. I’m seeing this.”

View from Cuith-Raing, Highlands

The skies seemed bigger. I felt even smaller. I had my doubts that I was still on Earth.

Cuith-Raing, Highlands

Calda House, NW Highlands

I was a solo traveler on that trip. I find that there are pros and cons to traveling alone. The biggest pro is that you can do whatever you want whenever you want; the biggest con is that you don’t get to share the experience with anyone. After a while, I got a bit homesick on the trip, mainly because I became overwhelmed with the constant moving from place to place and the newness of things. The craving for familiarity started to seep in.

I don’t know what to attribute this feeling. I’m a creature of habit, yet I need to be released into the wild once in a while. Even on a trip to a new and fascinating city, I can only take so many museums and interiors of lavish castles. And then I need to be let out. Experience the small, quiet moments and the vastness of the landscape around me. Let my traveling mind reach out and wrap itself around the details of new people, culture and food. Lots of food. Of course, you don’t need to travel 5000 miles just to experience something new. Look into the familiar and unfamiliar of your everyday life, and you will see something you’ve never seen before.

What I see in my everyday life – big and small – isn’t too shabby.

Oh, but that pull…

I’m taking a short trip soon with a friend and I’m sooo looking forward to exploring the wild heart of a new city.

This traveler is ready to be unleashed.

[I think I inadvertently busted my way into a WP weekly photo challenge by linking my post on their site, so I’d better show some common courtesy by linking you to their awesome site: http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/dreamy/]

Runners’ highs sure are unpredictable. I thought they were gifted to you after a run or maybe during some kind of physical peak, not right as you began running. The High hit me as soon as I stepped foot on the trail. It’s possible that I was feeling extra good. Or maybe it was the caffeine. No matter. The run had me feeling extremely grateful.

I love to run on the trail along the ocean. It’s probably hell on my knees, but I’m not a sprinter or a galloper, nor do I run the entire time, so I feel like I’m not punishing them too much. After I completed my first 10k on New Year’s day, I was grateful to have finished. I didn’t care where I placed or if I lost time to take photos of the course. It simply wasn’t enough for me to take mental pictures – I had to capture this:

The view I have on my regular runs is spectacular. I get to see things like this:

and this:

I’m grateful to be able to see and experience all of the above. And not only with my eyes.

I’m grateful to have a voice that is growing stronger and am thankful that I know when not to use that voice (you should hear some of the things that go on in my head that luckily for you, I keep to myself).

I’m grateful for my health and for limbs that keep me going. Once castigated, my legs have told me, Don’t be ashamed of us anymore. Understood. My respect to you, you healthy burritos. And I say that with affection, not in a snarky way, per my usual self.

I’m also grateful for forums like this. For all of the Internet’s overindulgence and creepy-uncle aspects, it also opens up a world where people can connect in the best ways possible. It helps me grow and learn and discover. And in return, I hope I can extend that energy back out into the world.

As I mentioned in a post a year ago, I used to look at runners and think, “Really, now. Why?? Where are you even going?”

Where am I going?

Everywhere, with grateful intention go I…