LOVE!
Who wants to join me?
I invite you to the 365 hearts challenge. Each day, spend a moment to focus on your heart and your own self-love. Start by asking yourself the question of how do you show yourself self-love? Practice whatever the answer to that question is, more and more. Then, see if you can spot a heart that appears within your awareness throughout your day. Snap a picture, hop on social media, post your experience or private message it to me and hashtag #365heartsin2020. I would love to hear the stories that often come with the appearance of these magical shapes. Completely natural hearts such as those found in nature are extremely profound. However, any heart that appears in your awareness is meant for you to receive the love.
I will reshare your posts in my stories and may even feature your experiences in future posts or blogs. If you would like your experience to remain anonymous just let me know in your message!
Most of you know that I see hearts just about everywhere. I absolutely LOVE when people send me hearts of their own that they find and it makes them think of me. I welcome this anytime! Here are a few of my examples:
Just 3 participants for 365 days would equal 1,095 hearts spread across the world via social media!
Let's create a heart centered movement and spread the magic!
#365heartsin2020
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Have you ever been really excited about doing or pursuing something and out of nowhere something pops up to get in your way? This could be anything… a red flag saying no, don’t do it!, a health condition, a partner discouraging you, a family emergency, or a distraction of any kind. That thing you were so determined to do or experience all of a sudden is now up on the table to potentially be put on the back burner.
This past weekend, I escaped to one of my most soul nourishing places on the planet which is the White Mountains of New Hampshire. On my last day there, I had planned the hikes I wanted to get in before I began my 4+hr trek home.
I set out to begin the first hike which promised a steep incline, but magnificent views if you stuck it out. The first distraction was that even with my gps on and alerting me of where to go, I still managed to drive right by the road in front of me. Due to the traffic, I had to loop back around through town to try again. Approximately 10 minutes later, I finally get back to where I needed to be to start my journey.
Once on the road itself, it is residential for approximately the first mile and then you turn off onto a dirt “Class 6” road which is not maintained and had a nice sign saying pass at your own risk. I had read that 2WD cars may find difficulty with it. I had quite a day the day before where I tested my 2WD car’s off roading abilities so I wasn’t concerned.
This road was very steep in spots and very rocky and filled with lots of dirt potholes. My car bounced all the way up. I wasn’t entirely sure where the trailhead was going to be since I had no cell service in this area. I felt a little uneasy about continuing higher and higher due to the state of the road and I debated turning around a few times. However, the road was so narrow there was no turning around unless I found a driveway.
At the very end of the inclined stretch, my tire sensors started beeping and I immediately got that pit in the stomach feeling of “Oh crap. I am going to be stuck on this mountain bc I shouldn’t have driven this car up here”. My mind instantly went to “I should turn around...I need to turn around….” But there was nowhere to turn around! I figured I would drive a little more until I had the space to do so or a driveway. Sure enough, my drive a little more brought me to the top of the hill and the parking for the trailhead.
I still felt uneasy about the situation and how I would get down or if I could get home that night. My first thought was “Maybe I should just go back down right now.” I checked my tire pressures with a gauge I carry and they all seemed fine. I hoped it was a faulty reading that just went off because of the rough terrain I had been on. I reset the sensor and said “I came all this way, I am going to do the dang hike!”
As soon as I started walking on to the trail and saw the first view from there, I knew I had made the right choice. My intuition led me to this hike for a reason. My fear, wanted me to run from doing it as if was a “bad trail” that I shouldn’t be on. And my sensors beeping were my warning to turn around. I did still need to drive a LONG way home and I needed a car and tires to do so!
But, how much would I have missed if I had let my fear drive me back down the road and not done any hiking that day?
Turns out, my tires were perfectly fine. Pressure never changed and the sensor never came back on. I made it down the road and home as if nothing ever happened.
And what did I get from sticking it out and pushing past my fear?
A fantastic hike on a trail that isn’t frequented by the masses. A personal physical, mental and emotional challenge as I pushed my own barriers in the wilderness by myself. A great workout, stunning views of most of the area that literally could not have been better and fresh blueberries! Right before I was about to head down, I found a huge mass of bear scat which led me to look around a little more. (If you don’t know me, I LOVE wildlife and tracking them via their droppings and/or footprints) Sure enough, I found about 12+ piles of moose scat!!! Some of which were fresh! I was chilling with the moose and I didn’t even know it! Meanwhile the night before I drove 3 hours to Moose Alley in northern New Hampshire to find moose and instead only found turkeys and a porcupine!
Over the past few years, I have learned that as you are on your own personal journey of growth and self-discovery you will come across things that attempt to stop you in your tracks. At every one of these moments or junctions you are given a choice. To keep going, push through and grow or to stay in that same space you have always been. Maru Iabichela, a friend, coach and teacher of mine calls this Upleveling.
Have you ever had an experience of upleveling where fear tried to get in the way? Were you able to overcome it? What did you get to grow into because of your own ability to be courageous?
I am so proud of myself for getting to the summit no matter what! It was SO worth it!
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Like the waves of the ocean or a body of water. It moves with the wind. Shifts things within it, surrounding it, and containing it. When calm, it creates an absolutely beautiful vision. When enraged, it can be catastrophic and terrifying.
The sun flickers off the top reflection like the sparks in a fire trailing to the sky. It leaves an illuminated path across the surface as if to say "follow me... I will guide you"...
We are made up of so many amazing pieces. Pieces that don't always fit together nicely within us or with others. Pieces that may need to be shifted slightly to create more ease.
Life is an evolution, a process of which you learn to allow the wind and the waves to take you and shape you as you need to be. When you resist, you create a storm and a rough surface to which the sun cannot reflect it's most beautiful displays. The birds cannot gracefully land to float upon your surface. The people cannot swim within your waters because it is too dangerous. The trees surrounding you cannot stay standing because your vicious strength removes all their soil and nutrients from beneath them.
Resistance and limitations keep you from embodying your essence. It keeps you in the storm instead of flowing with ease and giving the magic a place to naturally appear without any work. Allowing all of the amazing beauties to come into your presence and awareness. Life's most precious gifts. Animals, people, money, love, new jobs, creative ventures, gifts. It is all right at your fingertips.
Allow it in beneath your surface so you can radiate back to the world the most beautiful parts of you.
Tune into the messages and guidance meant for you and you will surely begin to see it everywhere. :) <3
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This past weekend, I traveled to the white mountains of New Hampshire. A place that is stunning but also near and dear to my heart. I lived there for two summers back in 2009 and 2010. Since then, I have returned a number of times and experienced many adventures, developed relationships, had many laughs and tears, all around I hold a lot of memories in this area.
This trip came at the last minute and I debated with myself whether I should go because I would be on my own. The potential for mishaps or off the grid injury or wildlife encounters are high and I told myself that I had "a lot going on right now". I then recognized this fear was myself trying to limit my own potential....so I booked the trip. As soon as I realized that fear was attempting to hold me back, this possibility began to excite me.
This awareness also made me more attuned to the outer persuasion that was occurring around me. How many people told me I shouldn't go... that I needed to be careful..all were said out of care and concern for my well-being but it still felt like pressure and that I had to appease someone other than myself. This does not fly with me anymore. Should's are like boulders placed upon someone's shoulders (including our own). When you live an empowered lifestyle we are meant to do what we want to do and when we want to do it if it aligns with our intuition. It is always your choice of when and how you use your time and your responsibility to hold your own boundaries. You have every right to say no... and also more than every right to say yes. If you want to.
I knew I was making the right move when the night before I left, Cupcake, my favorite photogenic bear stopped by my house to say hello and send me off on my way! She greeted me with the most magnificent smiles as if to say hey there long lost friend! (I had not had an interaction with her since March) Bears are a symbol of strength and confidence which was my reinforcement that I had everything I needed to face the unknown.
Already, this trip was different. No one to plan with, no one to talk to, just me and my weirdly awesome self doing EXACTLY what I want to do at all times. And all the signs on the planet saying yes please, go ahead with out caution. When I am alone, I have an uncanny ability to connect with something bigger than myself and at the same time I am led to magical places and things to then take magical photos. In a nutshell, I listen to my intuition. I started off the trip by making a quick stop at Lost River Gorge. An attraction I have never visited and figured I should finally check it out. This place is filled with decorative bears! That was my favorite part :)
My next stop was a trail I had previously hiked but had not gone all the way to the top. I had no intention of completing the trail this time either. I simply wanted to go and sit near some waterfalls to relax. Once I got there and realized how much I had missed the first time I hiked the trail, I couldn't stop myself from continuing on. The falls were stunning. The trail was not terribly long, but definitely steep with tricky footing in places. Each time I thought I had reached the "best view" I kept seeing those in front of me continuing higher. Now I was more intrigued to see where they were going. I continued on until I reached the top, completely impressed with my view and my own ability to keep on when I thought it couldn't get better.
My final hike for that day was the Mt. Pemigewassett trail also known as "Indian Head trail". This is a 3.5 mile out and back trail that I would classify as a moderate hike. For the Whites, it is easy. I powered through this because it appeared a storm was potentially brewing close by and I was losing daylight! The entire trail is an incline, rocky and a very solid lower body workout. I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and the view at the top was magnificent. Due to it being later in the day, the trail was empty until I reached the top. The few folks that were there were beginning to make their way down as it had gotten so windy. It took me approximately 45 minutes to reach the summit . I gave myself about ten minutes to enjoy the view, but between the wind and the incoming storm, I was ready to head back down to make sure I made it down safely. I ran most of the way down and with the obstacles it was quite exhilarating. This would be a great trail for a sunrise, but you would have to give yourself ample time to do it and definitely bring flashlights!
Once I reached the bottom, I made my way into the Franconia Notch to view the sunset. I had seen those storm clouds brewing and knew it would be the prime opportunity for an incredible sky if the sun hit them just right. The first spot I stopped in gave me an okay view and I thought the sunset was just going to fizzle. I took some pictures then hopped in my car to keep moving so I could search for the moving dusk wildlife aka deer, moose, bears and anything else that wanted to show themselves! As soon as I drove up the road, I said WOAHHH and pulled right over to continue my photo shoot. I didn't have the best view from this location so I continued on to the Cannon mountain parking lot. It was INCREDIBLE. We were probably 15 minutes past sunset time and that show was just starting! Who needs fireworks!! :)
The next morning, I continued my tradition of rising early every time I travel to find a sunrise. I hit the trail and did a quick hike for a decent view. Unfortunately, the sky this morning had absolutely no clouds in it unlike the night before. If you don't know, clouds are what make spectacular sunrises and sunsets. It gives character, depth, adds interesting lighting and colors. When you don't have clouds and just a crystal clear sky, the scene is just a typical sunrise. Still beautiful, but I felt no need to stick around to watch it transform into something bigger. I headed down the trail and hit the road! On the morning drive around the notch and surrounding areas I spotted a white-tail deer and 2 turkey parents with multiple babies. Everyday began with multiple turkeys along the roadways escorting their babies. Turkeys are a symbol of abundance especially when you see them with their many babies. Abundance is everywhere if and when you are open to receiving it. They are an interesting animal to me that I typically only see when interacting with certain people.
One of my best pieces of advice for anyone would be that if you drive past something and say "what was that" or "oh that looks cool" you should stop, get out and check it out. Don't wait until your next trip. There is a reason it caught your attention.
I soon stopped driving around when I wanted to stop and explore. One of my first stops was to my favorite waterfalls, Sabbaday Falls, which is a popular family place on the Kancamagus highway. The last time I rolled through Lincoln about a month ago, I was disappointed to see Sabbaday had been closed and there was no indication of when it may reopen. I happened to see a social media post claiming the spot was reopened within the past week or two so I made sure to check it out! When I arrived, NOT A SOUL was there! I had the entire attraction and waterfalls to myself. This is a photographers dream as well as for someone who gets extremely drained around crowds of people.
At the base of Sabbaday falls laid a beautiful heart shaped rock positioned perfectly next to cairns. Cairns on most hiking trails are hand made piles of stone that are typically trail markers. As if to say, you are on the right path or "right this way". The message I received here with the position of the heart shaped rock right next to the cairns was "Following your heart IS the right direction." It actually is the ONLY direction.
When I finished at Sabbaday, I debated about where to go next. There were a number of trails in that area that I found interesting and the landscape is PERFECT for a moose habitat. I ended up pulling in to the Sawyer Pond Trail parking lot on a whim. I had looked into this trail a while ago, but I had no intention of doing it so I couldn't remember the details. The sign and map told me it was 4.5miles to Sawyer Pond and the area looked relatively flat. No big deal! I'll do one long trail to get my exercise in today instead of exploring multiple trails. Perfect. I started off. I walked for about 30 seconds and ran into a body of water. I thought hmmm......now what? Where's the trail? I followed a small trail along the river that looked like it hadn't been frequented much this past year. I went through a lot of tall grasses and weeds that dumped me out onto a small beach next to the river. I looked down to see prints and said okay someone was just here the trail must be close! And then I looked closer.....those are NOT human feet. I had been trailing a moose! It was so exciting. Sure, moose are huge and could kill me with one kick easily. But, they are rare to see (I've now seen 3 in my whole life) and they are incredible animals. It would have been an honor to see one up close and personal and outside of the comfort of my car. But for now, I settled for some fresh awesome footprints of what looked like mama moose and her baby and later fresh moose poop (on a different trail)! I finally realized that in order to actually be on the Sawyer Pond Trail you have to forge the river. Alrighty then! Totally not what I expected to be doing at 8:00am but why not, right? I really enjoyed this hike. It was flat for the first 2 miles approximately then it gradually went uphill the remainder of the way. Arriving at Sawyer Pond was beautiful and I would love to go back to spend more time there. The trail itself was not spectacular with a lot of things to see. But I did find many frogs, changing vegetation, and even a rowdy squirrel that I swear was having a full blown conversation with me...I think every animal does this actually!
On my last day, my legs were quite sore. I had hiked a lot and I hiked hard. I did some shorter and steep trails over the weekend, but I had run up and back down them. My body can handle it, but I don't do it all the time so when I do...I feel it. I knew I had to sit in the car for a while on my drive home so the best remedy was a trip to the river. The temperatures had dropped into the 40's overnight and that water was frigid! But an ice bath has always been the perfect trick to sore muscles. And peaceful rivers clear all negativity in your spirit instantly.
After my ice bath in the river, I was led to travel back to Lincoln, NH via the Kancamagus highway. I passed by a pond that I had never seen before on my many trips over this highway. I quickly turned around and went back to check it out. I love ponds! They attract all sorts of wildlife and for photography they offer great reflections and typically beautiful landscapes around them. This stop is called Lily Pond. Right next door was the entrance to a trail that would lead you to Sawyer Pond! Go figure! I needed to move a little bit and I didn't want to waste much more time so I decided I would head down this trail for 30 minutes or so and then head back to my car. I will DEFINITELY be going back to do this whole trail! I found so many exciting things here within the first 5 minutes. The area is filled with Metallic green damselflys also known as ebony jewelwings that I swear are fairies on earth! The path itself was lined with Lady Slipper plants that were just past their blooming time. I have never seen so many in one area! I then stumbled upon fresh moose poop and anticipated I might see some sort of wildlife in this spot.
The White Mountains are an incredible place and a gorgeous area to explore. I would highly recommend it to anyone. I can't wait to go back and cover some more land! Don't let anyone or anything hold you back from what it is you want to do with your life.
~AcornTales
]]>I have learned that I do best without planning every detail and allowing life's natural ebbs and flows to guide me to where I need to go. For this trip, I had "planned" a week long adventure visiting many spots that would be new to me. My plans were quickly shifted when I learned my kitty needed to have a large surgery and it was going to happen just before I was scheduled to leave. On top of the surgery, he was later diagnosed with salivary gland cancer. Which is a very aggressive form of cancer in cats and has a very poor prognosis. After receiving the diagnosis and weighing my options, I decided the best thing is to keep Melvin as calm, comfortable and happy as I possibly can in his later stage of life. No matter how long this stage may be. He currently is healing well from surgery and running around like a fire-ball kitten as if nothing ever happened. :)
Now on to the travel . . .
Even though my plans had changed, I still continued on with the two nights I had booked previously on the coast of Maine. I spent one day traveling through my favorite state, New Hampshire, and ending up in "vacationland", Maine. I decided to drive the "long" way up through the scenic roads of New Hampshire rather than sitting on the highway and traffic through Boston.
My first quick stop was at the Old Stone Arch Bridge a piece of history . . .
I then went around the corner to the Greater Goose Pond Forest located in Keene, NH.
What a beautiful place! This is obviously a local attraction for many activities. I passed someone running, biking, kayaking and fishing. I did the full loop surrounding the pond which took me a little over an hour to complete with many photo and video stops. Shortly after starting the trek around the pond, I found a stick with a lichen like growth on it in the shape of a heart. Do you see it?! The most interesting wildlife discovery here was what I believe to be a peregrine falcon. I would say this is a stop that is worthwhile especially if you are driving through and simply need to quickly connect to nature.
After a nice session of stretching the legs, I made my way up to Lincoln, New Hampshire. Lincoln is one place I have spent a lot of time in previously and hold many memories there. This trip was simply to pass through, but I made sure to stop at as many pull-offs as I could on the Kancamagus Highway. It was pre-tourist season and still COLD as I climbed higher and higher into the mountains.
Here are some of the views and treasures that I found at the Kancamagus highway pull-offs.
The Rocky Gorge
Swift River and Lower Falls
There were signs of doubles everywhere I went...
Do you see the exploding hearts?!?
As I left New Hampshire and made my way into Maine . . . I ended up a little off course. I attempted to make a stop at a place I had found via Google but it led me to a slightly random location. I decided to skip this and went on my way. However, as I was leaving the area, I found ACORN LANE!
Cosmic redirection :)
Eventually arriving in Scarborough, Maine . . .
I was greeted with a beautiful sunset to be followed by an incredible sunrise and then topped by a spectacular sunset the next night!
Sunrise . . .
Sunset . . .
There were many memories in between. So much packed in to one short weekend.
The moral of the story is: Life doesn't have to be packaged neatly and tied in that perfect little bow. In fact, it rarely ever is!
There is beauty everywhere, if you simply allow yourself to see it.
I hope you enjoyed a glimpse of what New England has to offer.
Thank you for joining me on yet another Acorn Tales journey!
To order prints or products: Please contact me at [email protected]
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