As a young mom, I wanted to get my family outdoors more. I was tired, anxious and just didn’t have the energy or follow through to nurture a love of nature.
I remember hoping, dreaming and wanting for this love of nature for my kids.
It wasn’t until we started traveling full-time that this dream started to come to fruition.
When we were traveling, we were outdoors so much. Hiking. Exploring. Just playing and being outdoors.
The other day, my younger son told me “mom, I miss playing in the Forest and trees”.
And, I miss it too.
Being a country that is “stuck inside”- it can be hard to change your mindset and habits.
But, once you get your family outdoors, it’s a refreshing level of peace and contentment.
My kids started off complaining about having to go outside to play. It was like pulling teeth.
My goal in writing this, is not to diminish any one side’s voice.
Rather, to bring to the table that there is a time and a season for everything.
I feel like I’m pretty middle of the road- and even so, I know I’m still at fault, at times.
I’ve spent the better part of the past year trying my best to listen, and I still felt like there were times my voice wasn’t heard.
On one end, I’m tired of being a punching bag, on other, I need to stop throwing the punches, on the other, it’s time I make amends, and use my voice to help build bridges.
The point of this is, cycles happen- and they don’t break until there is change.
And, there needs to be more people standing up in the gap, building bridges to make change.
This is not to say that this is necessarily “your time” for any specific area- rather, whatever you are ready for, and on your time table- I’ll hope that you’ll remember and be open to what changes you are personally ready to take.
Politics aside, this is not to say don’t stand up for what you believe in.
Rather, stand up for what you believe in and be loving to your neighbor. Hear when you have wronged others, and when you’re ready- because we are all on different time tables- break the cycle.
We all have a responsibility to the parts we play in our circles, in our society, and in the world.
In different aspects of our lives, we may be in different parts of the cycle. We may be breaking cycles in one area, and still needing a lot of work in another. And in some- man, do we really need to just stop talking, and start listening and doing!
If I’m way off base, or you feel like any part of this was hurtful- please feel free to open up to conversation with me!
My goal is to keep a space that allows for honest, open communication that works towards coming together.
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