Mile 1020. What have I learned in 1000 miles.

I stare at the stones on the ground.   They are arranged to form a 1, then a 0, and another 0, and another 0.   1-0-0-0.   1000 miles.   I read it, and read it again, and read it again.

Wow.   That’s a big number.

In 80 days – including off trail days, norovirus days and zero days – I’ve covered 1000 miles, 2 million footsteps, and 160,000 feet of elevation gain which is the equivalent of climbing Mt Everest 5.5 times.

So how have I changed in these 1000 miles?

While the full impact remains unclear, a few self-observations do jump out:

The Appalachian Trail is the seismic life-shift I needed to remind myself of who I am.  

This journey has been the catalyst for me to tap back into the quiet inner wisdom of my soul, uninhibited by a compulsion to please others or to get ahead or to fit into a cookie-cutter life mold designed by some random societal dictation.

I love the space between my ears.   My inner voice is kind, compassionate, and encouraging.   She is my biggest cheerleader.   And she truly deeply believes that I have the power and the smarts and the talent to do anything I set my mind to.   Anything.   Really – anything.  

My formula is simple:  Set a big hairy goal, be humble, recognize my vulnerability, ask for help, listen to advisors, harness the power of team.   Then – focus, prioritize, forget the goal, enjoy the daily grind, and work like hell.  Eventually – in its own time – the results follow.   They always do.

Pre-Trail, the rush of life moved me away from tapping into the wisdom of my inner voice.  

I allowed the voices of others to enter the space between my ears.   I gave them credibility that they didn’t earn.   I believed them.   And I suffered for it.   My soul started to die.   And I covered up the pain with more of this and more of that.

I should have honored my inner voice all along.

The Trail has granted me the stillness, the quiet, the space to be at one with my soul once again.

I didn’t quite realize how important stillness, quiet and space are to me.   I’ve always described myself as an extrovert, knowing how much I love people and crave interaction on a deep, meaningful level.  

Upon reflection, the people who I value most – my true blues – are introverts.   They are quiet.  Their energy is quiet.   They encourage me to remain attuned to my soul; and they give me the space to do so.

During the initial phase of my Appalachian Trail journey, surrounding myself with others smarter and more experienced than I was critical to my survival.

Now that I have the confidence to survive in the wilderness, I naturally am leaning into my untapped introversion.   My own stillness.  My own quiet.   My own space.

Something more will come from this.   1000 more miles and another 80 days will tell.   

I’ll let you know.   =)