Wow. We are on this trip! I am incredibly grateful to be here and on this trip with these people. I feel undeserving of the beauty that we see each day.
I started this trip with the thought that I really needed to work on something, and it wasn’t really clear what that was until today. Living with intention, purpose, and patience is what revealed itself. It was so clear today because we went climbing at Sunshine Wall in Utah. In the past, when climbing, I was just focused on making it to the top, but it has slowly become something that requires more thoughtfulness. The slab climbing at Sunshine made me more intentional with my feet and mindful of my movement. I was nervous on this slippery Navajo sandstone, as I often lack confidence in my ability to rely on my feet. I quickly quieted the fear and trusted a hold. To my surprise this tiny crimp held my whole body. This challenging climb reflected the life I would like to live. One that is full of intention and trust. The landscape around makes it easy to be grateful for a lot. Waves of emotions came and went as I walked around the untouched desert. I was filled with disbelief and gratitude.
In English we have been focusing on poetry. This is an excerpt from a poem I wrote while in class at the first house we stayed in. The view was absolutely stunning – looking out over a man made pond onto the mountains. The poem was inspired by the writer Joy Harjo who’s book we were focusing on this unit:
Once there were songs for everything
Songs for the little things and not the large
Songs for laughing and letting go
A song of harmony and of sadness plays
Trying to process life in the moment was how this poem was thought out. Thinking about my own thoughts and beginning to let go so that I can appreciate the little things a little extra. I want to be able to say at the end of the day – though there might have been reservations there was also extreme amounts of joy and harmony.
-Lowry Miller