Walking with goat heads

There is something to be said about the power of the outdoors.  Yesterday, I found myself being pulled to go out to Kolob Canyon.
As I began my hike, the awe striking sandstone structures enveloped the valley in which I was passing through with the smell of ponderosa pine trees and radiantly colored aspen trees lining the path.  Grounded is an understatement as to how I felt walking quietly through the valley with my head gently moving side to side admiring the surrounding space.  In that moment, I felt the need to take my shoes off and for the next 8 miles I was introduced to mindful walking.
Mindfulness can be defined as a state of being conscious or aware of something.  In short, I became aware of how and where I was stepping during my barefoot hike.
The how:  How I placed my foot with each step generated a heightened state of awareness to my surroundings.  I asked myself, "how should I step?" which then led me to step with a sense of softness while also absorbing the terrain.  Keep in mind that when we have shoes on and are walking out and about wherever we may be, we never really focus on how we are stepping, we sort of just step unconsciously and trust in our ability to move; we also know that our shoes will protect our feet from any harmful objects beneath us.  Focusing on how we step brings us into the present moment and out of a place where our worries and troubles of the past/future lie.  With each mindful step, we draw closer and further into pure bliss-filled presence.
The where:  Where I placed my foot was in direct correlation with how I placed it.  When ones shoes are off, we immediately become more vulnerable to our environment.  Heading back to the how, remember that I was walking with awareness of being soft and absorbent.  Where I placed my foot took even more awareness as to what was around me.  I soon came to realize that I had no control over what was around me but what I did have control over was how I maneuvered in-between the terrain.  Absorption was such a unique concept to experience during this hike because it taught me to not only soften my feet but to soften my entire body.  A sense of lightness encompassed my physical vessel as I continued forward.  Even with such a light absorbed state of being and heightened state of awareness, I still had my fair share run-ins with goat heads that pierced my feet.
The goat head:  Many of us have probably experienced this at one time or another in our life and we could all agree that it is not the most pleasant feeling.  As I stated above, even with mindful walking, I still came across some hidden goat heads that gave me a little jolt of discomfort but like any discomforting experience, we stop what we are doing and take care of it...or do we?
This final passage is designed to put my entire story together.  The goat head was the pinnacle moment of a wonderfully designed realization.  Let me break it down for us.  As I journeyed with bare feet, it obviously created a state of heightened awareness which generated mindful movements.  Before we go any further, for these next few moments, let us pretend that our bare feet symbolizes certain aspects of our life.  The how symbolizes the tool we use to move through life, more so, how we think.  The where is the placement of the how or are thoughts.  Sometimes in life, we keep our shoes on and forget how important vulnerability is in our ability to be present.  Yes, vulnerability is not easy, in fact, it is extremely difficult for some.  It takes an act of courage to be raw and true to yourself and to face your discomforts in life.
Our discomforts are symbolized by the goat head.  At any point in your life, if you ever stepped on a goat head, what did you do?  I can probably tell you what you didn't do.  You probably didn't keep walking with that discomfort or put a bandaid over the goat head right?  That just does't make sense.  Why would we continue to walk with such pain and discomfort?  Instead, we probably had a quick moment with a few curse words, stopped, became present with what was causing us this discomfort, pulled it out because we understand that by releasing this we will relieve ourselves and then keep moving forward.
We are always in a state of vulnerability to our environment but it is being okay and present with feeling vulnerability that is one of our greatest teachers.  Sometimes when we walk on our path of life, we step on a few goat heads along the way.  Remind yourself this, if you wouldn't continue walking with a goat head in your foot, why would you continue to walk with a goat head in your mind.  Discomforting thoughts are temporary, just like these goat heads and no matter how many bandaids you put on top of the goat head, the source of your discomfort will always be there.  So, I invite you to take your shoes off, face vulnerability head on, walk with mindfulness, move with awareness, and be courageous to look at pain and discomfort head on and pull that goat head out.  When our path is smooth, enjoy it; when our path is rocky and filled with goat heads, learn how to maneuver through it with mindfulness and most importantly enjoy the journey.

With Love and Gratitude always, J

"Learn to be enjoyed and everything you do, you will enjoy" - Jace Balbach