Written by Gloria Ramirez 
I recently went on a camping and hiking trip with a couple of friends to a beautiful area in California called The Sierra Buttes. The morning of our trip we packed our car with our camping gear and drove to our destination, just two hours from home. When we got there we decided to go hiking first and find our camping site later because we knew it was going to take us some time to climb about 1,800 feet to an elevation of about 9,000 feet.
The experience was amazing. We were laughing and enjoying each moment with a sense of wonder and a great expectation to see what awaited us once we got there. When got to the top of the mountain, there was an outlook area that is only accessed by a pretty sketchy set of staircases. My legs were shaking as I went up each stair. The experience was exhilarating and fun and I made up my mind to make it to the top. The reward was priceless. The view was spectacular.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could live each moment of our lives with a sense of positive expectation, wonder and joy? What prevents us from living this way consistently? Maybe past conditioning, fear, or doubt? The good news is that we can always overcome all those blocks and decide to live life fully every day.
We enjoyed our time at the top of the mountain while we had lunch and experienced nature in remarkable ways. We saw the beautiful vegetation, a brown rattlesnake and the cutest chipmunk.
On our way back we enjoyed the trail and the gorgeous views of the mountain and the lakes around. Once we were back in our car we headed toward our camping site but then we remembered that we wanted to get marshmallows for the campfire we were going to build later, so went to a store/restaurant nearby. When we arrived there we decided to have something to eat. Finally, a little bit after 5pm, we were ready to drive to the camping site, only to find out that it was full. We checked other sites nearby and there was not any space available. We realized that without knowing we had chosen to go camping on a long busy holiday weekend.
Without any hesitation from any of us, or feeling bad, we just accepted the circumstances and begun to head back home. We were laughing about our camping preparation (to enjoy a comfortable night) and how our day ended joyfully even though we did not camp as planned. We made plans for an afternoon in the near future to go to a nearby park to make our marshmallow smores. Each of us were at peace and actually laughing about the experience. We were not attached to the outcome but only to having fun that day and embracing each moment with joy.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could let go of our attachments to the outcome of our experiences and always make a commitment to have fun? What restricts us from doing it? Could it be the need to control, or fear of the unknown, or past experiences? The good news is that it is possible to train ourselves to embrace adventure, to have fun no matter what the circumstances are, to not take ourselves so seriously, and to enjoy each moment as it comes.
Affirmation: I embrace each moment with joy
“Joy does not simply happen. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day” ~ Henry J. M. Nouwen
For many years I was convinced that I was at the mercy of external circumstances and therefore I did not feel free. I did not know that I had created my own prison through the power of my mind. I did not know that was the only one holding the key to free myself from fear, anger, doubt, resentment, guilt, insecurity and anxiety. These were very difficult years because I felt hopeless and I did not know that I had all the answers inside of me. I wasted too much energy and time complaining, judging, controlling, being fearful and angry, and playing victim. As a result, I not only affected my own life, but also affected the life of the people around me.