Embracing My Joy

With the traveling I’m doing lately, I’m finding my running to be an adventure I wasn’t quite expecting. I have new paths wherever I go, and surprise I never know what’s around the next corner. I’ve experienced changes of seasons and crazy animal exploits. One of my favorites being eight wild turkeys crossing an intersection at a crosswalk in Spokane, Washington! I’ve run in the mountains, the high desert, by lakes, rivers, and streams. I’ve run through farmlands and around wheat fields. I’ve run in big cities, small towns, through a number of city parks, and down quiet country roads. I’ve run the flats and I’ve run the hills. And through it all, I have embraced the beauty of whatever surrounds me.

I started posting photo collages of areas I'm running on Instagram when we began our traveling lifestyle 2.5 years ago. It wasn't until I happened to look back over a year of my Instagram running posts that I realized I had captured something very special to me. In that moment, I'm running the area all over again. I can feel the heat of the day or the chill of the morning, hear the sounds around me or the quiet engulf me - and I always feel the joy of where I was. Feeling that joy inspires me to take the time to embrace the beauty and find the joy each day in whatever I may be doing.

Have you taken a new path and surprised yourself lately? Have you stopped long enough to embrace the beauty around you? What's your joy? If you're having trouble answering these questions, take a walk, feel the day, click a few photos of what you find to be funny, beautiful, or amazing. I guarantee these clicks will help you find and embrace your joy.

Michelle

For those of you not on Instagram, if you click through the Instagram logo in the side column you'll see my running collages. Enjoy!

A Boulder Colorado Run courtesy of damclark photos