Rough Waters

Rough waters don't have to define your journey.

I'll never forget the day Lake Michigan knocked me down, waders and all. I lost all my finds that I had spent hours searching for. Gone, as quickly as they went into the waders, they returned back into the lake. I was angry, I was distraught and crying. It was painful to know how much hard work I put into something for it to just be gone in an instant. I helped another lady up that got knocked down by the waves and we helped each other remember how important it is to steady yourself, to find a firm foundation first. We both went separate ways on the beach, took deep breaths and started hunting again. The rocks found after that far exceeded the ones that fell in. Persistence.

It took not allowing the knock-down to be a knock-out. It wasn't the end, it was another beginning.

We can so easily get discouraged, it's up to us to not allow those things to hold so much power that it destroys us. Discouragement can break your spirt, but it doesn't have to define your story. Keep writing, keep going, keep climbing. The universe has much to offer you if you stay persistent.

See those handful of rocks? Leland blues, fossils, petoskey stones, agates...handfuls of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior, treasures in my mind; those rocks didn't just land in my hand. Those are the products of pain, of persistence, of tears, of working through grief, of knowing I'm struggling and getting in the water anyway. Those Michigan beauties taught me so many things and it's my desire to teach, you, too. Are you ready to get up, get out, do uncomfortable and cold things, are you ready to learn more about yourself and your soul than you can even fathom?

Let's go.