south lake tahoe | Luscious Light

Repurpose

I just finished a trail run in the meadow among the lupines, wild grasses and trees, the sun shining, blasting me with Vitamin D. Everything smells sage sweet and I’m full of energy.

Why would I ever leave Tahoe?

1. My skin is like a lizard, dry and constantly molting.

2. Good Wild Alaskan Salmon and Dungeness Crab are lacking.

3. California is sinking deeper in a drought and the future of water resources doesn’t look promising.

4. I look ridiculous in a trucker cap.

So, off I go, back to Seattle. My last month has been spent in South Lake Tahoe. SLT is a difficult place to leave. The lake is just beginning to warm, the weather is perfect for hiking, supping, biking and swimming. I even have work, but just the perfect amount to allow plenty of playtime with new friends or solo. Additionally, my brother is here, whom always gets me into trouble when we’re out doing fun stuff. I have an inspiring sister in law who encourages me to learn what I need and go get it. I have two young nephews who change every day, growing and burgeoning into distinct personalities. Caleb told me he will miss me more than all the coconuts people eat, the ones on the ground and in bags. Despite all of this, it’s time to return. There are friends and family to reconnect with AND it’s the best time of the year in the Pacific Northwest.

Returning to the Evergreen State is an opportunity to settle back in to Matt’s and my beautiful dwelling, but also to repurpose my path. The joy of traveling, as my friend Mallory and I discussed, is that each day is different from life at home. Traveling encourages learning and experiencing in a way we may not otherwise.

“You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of success is found in your daily routine.” John C. Maxwell

Miles in disguise.

Another reason not to leave- great hair!

Wildflowers and Aspens

Fresh Shape

Rest, rest, rest is supposed to heal most injuries. Matt and I have been resting in South Lake Tahoe at the Choy Hurst home. For a long week we have resided in the smokey haze of the Yosemite fire. Resting for us does not mean sitting around watching television and eating ice cream, although there has been a good deal of this. (I highly recommend “Orange is the New Black” on Netflix. It’s quite the addictive series.) Resting is doing different things than what we have been doing on our bicycle tour like yoga, kitchen cooking, climbing and hiking.

Both Matt and I often have a difficult time just settling in. I get restless and want to be doing something. I have vacuumed, hot tubbed, constructed the fire engine floor puzzle with my nephew multiple times, scoured sinks, baked cookies, made pizza from scratch twice, tried two yoga studios, had acupuncture http://www.elevate-wellness.com and bodywork from Crissy http://thestudiolaketahoe.com, gone bouldering, supping and visited the grocery store every day. Matt has been rebuilding a fence in Christian’s yard and studied the Tahoe Climbing Guide with a hungry appetite. It sounds like we are really on vacation now, but when I’m finally at a lost for what to do next, I’m confronted by demons. These assholes creep into my innocent brain and begin questioning my path. They ask what are you doing with your life? How are you making the world a better place? How are you finding not just happiness, but deep satisfaction? The voices end with, you are not enough. As long as I am active I can flee from these voices. (In case you are wondering, I am of the flight club, not the fight.) It is so much easier to run than to actually take a good look at yourself.

I live many days in the world of “should”. I should make the bed, I shouldn’t be frustrated, I shouldn’t have another cup of coffee, I should learn to climb beyond 5.7….. The list goes on and on. I’m realizing that occasionally, I must rest. I need to set aside time to get to the core of me and figure out where those rascal demons originate. How can I Schwarzenegger crush them and not simply repress them? My musings tend to come back to that life is all practice. Everything that happens is practice and something to learn from. All that can be done is to continue practicing, studying and resting.

I really like this quote from Claire Dederer about yoga, “I had discovered something; that there was a pleasure in becoming something new. You could will yourself into a fresh shape. Now all I had to do was figure out how to do it out there, in my life.”