Episode 55
I want to share a story from last weekend… that, at the time, didn’t feel like much.
But a few days later, I woke up and realized:
Oh… this is exactly what we’re living through right now.
And not in a conceptual way… in a very real, embodied way.
Because what happened on this hike showed me what it actually feels like to move through something you didn’t fully choose… weren’t fully prepared for… and can’t turn back from.
So if you’re ready to join me on a little adventure…
Pull up a comfy chair.
Invite in your soul.
And be open to receive exactly what you need… to live, be, and thrive as the embodied soul you are.
Last Saturday, my husband and I were invited on a farm and waterfall tour. No other details—just to support a local family.
And I reached out at the very beginning and asked, “Is this like a flip-flop type tour, or is this more of a hiking-shoe type tour?”
And the person said, “I don’t have many details, but I would wear your hiking shoes.”
So the day arrives. We go. And it starts off really wonderful.
They have goats and cows and lots of fruit trees. We learned how they make cheese, got to taste some cheese… and then we’re off on our hike.
And we start going down… down, down, down… continuing into the deep primary rainforest.
After about—and hour of hiking, we get down to this waterfall. And it’s quite beautiful. We sit there for a few minutes, and then the guide starts gesturing that it’s time to move on—that we actually have two more waterfalls we’re going to.
And we all of look at each other. We all know this has already been a significant hike down… and that we’re going to have to make our way back up.
So we ask, “Is this a round trip, or are we coming back the same way?”
The details are a little vague.
The decision is made that we’re going to do a full circuit—that by the time we reach the third waterfall, it’ll be about the same either way.
Everyone …
We were scaling rock cliffs.
We were walking along paths that were literally falling out from under our feet—and you couldn’t even see where you’d end up if you fell.
We were going up 200 metres climbs… then down 200 metre climbs… then back up again.
And none of us were prepared for this. Nobody.
We had brought water, yes—but we didn’t realize how long this was going to be.
Nobody brought snacks. Nobody brought lunch. And we started at 9 a.m., passed lunchtime… and we were still hiking.
We finally got to the last waterfall.
There had already been a few falls. A few slips.
At one point, I slid—about 20 feet—down the side of a hill when the soil gave out from under my feet.
Luckily, there was a wire installed, and I grabbed onto that and made my way down safely.
And at this point, some people are complaining—this is too long, this is too hard, too hot.
And I was doing some of that too.
But as I was walking… something shifted.
This realization washed over me.
I’m two and a half hours into this hike… my legs are burning, the lactic acid is building, the ground feels unstable beneath my feet… and I know there’s still more to go.
And then this memory surfaced.
This childhood book—I must have read it when I was little—and the line came back to me:
“You can’t go over it.
You can’t go under it.
You have to go through it.”
And it just… landed.
Because we were deep in the jungle—kilometres in—and the only way out… was one step after another.
There was no helicopter coming.
There was no rescue.
The only way out of this… was through it.
And complaining about it wasn’t going to help.
It was only going to make it feel harder. Longer.
So I anchored into something different.
Positive self-talk.
“Body, we can do this. You’re doing great.”
One step at a time. Just one step after another. We’ve got this.
Gently overriding that voice that wanted to say, “I don’t want to do this anymore. I just want to sit. I just want this to be over.”
And at one point, I offered something similar to someone else who was struggling.
And there was some pushback.
“I don’t want any positive thinking. I don’t want affirmations.”
They just wanted to complain.
And that’s okay — Not everyone regulates the same way.
We all have to move through things in our own way.
But I knew for myself… that if I went down the path of “this is horrible, this is hard, this is awful”… that’s exactly what I was going to experience more of.
And it was already challenging enough.
And then—even on the way back—we’re sitting at the bottom of this massive waterfall, in this gorge, with these tall mountain walls on either side of us.
And I asked, “Do we have to go back the way we came?”
One person said yes.
The guide said no.
And then he pointed… to what looked like a near-vertical cliffside covered in trees and loose soil.
And I thought, “Oh my God… no.”
But then people started going.
And they were literally climbing up it.
There was a wire again, thankfully, to hold onto so we didn’t slide all the way back down.
And we did it.
We helped each other.
When someone struggled, others stayed back, gave a hand, offered encouragement.
And together… we all made it out.
We stopped. Sat down. Took a breath.
We did it together.
And a few days later, I woke up and thought:
This is an Embodied Soul episode.
Because that experience… is a micro example of what we’re moving through right now.
We set out on a path. We’re living our lives. And then things start to change.
And what really struck me is this:
Even at the very beginning—I asked, “Is this a flip-flop tour or a hiking-shoe tour?”
And I got… partial information.
“Wear hiking shoes.”
But nothing that actually reflected the magnitude of what we were about to walk into.
And that’s what this moment feels like.
We are not being given full maps before initiation.
Clarity… is coming after commitment, not before it.
And the other piece…
We didn’t realize the scale of what we were in… until we were already deep in it.
Two and a half hours in. Legs burning. No easy way out.
And that’s how this shift is unfolding too.
It’s not being fully announced.
It’s not something we understand from the beginning.
It’s something we feel once we’re already inside it.
And then we’re faced with the same moment:
Do I resist this…
Or do I learn how to move through it?
And for me… that’s what that hike showed so clearly.
The only way forward… was one step at a time.
We have to move through it.
This isn’t a shift that’s stopping.
This is a change in human consciousness that’s happening whether we like it or not.
So we can’t go around it.
We can’t wait it out.
But what we can do… is choose how we move through it.
We can watch our thoughts.
We can support our bodies, our minds, our emotions.
We can remember that doing this alone is much harder than doing it together.
Because when one person struggles, someone else can help.
Can hold a hand. Offer support. Share strength.
We move through this better together.
And it’s also okay to slow down.
To stop for a moment.
To catch your breath. Regain your strength.
And even in the middle of something hard… to notice the beauty around you.
Because the jungle… the mountains… the ancient trees… the waterfalls…
There was so much beauty there.
Even in the challenge.
And if we only focus on what’s hard… we miss all of that.
We miss the beauty that’s still present… even now.
Because what got me through that hike… wasn’t force.
And it wasn’t pretending it wasn’t hard.
It was how I met myself inside of it.
It was:
coming back to one step at a time.
Regulating my body—breathing, pausing when I needed to, letting my system settle instead of pushing past it.
Watching the thoughts that were running… and gently choosing ones that supported me instead of drained me.
Letting myself receive support—and also offering it when I had the capacity.
And remembering that I didn’t have to do it perfectly… I just had to keep moving.
That’s it.
Because the truth is…
You may not have known what you were saying yes to… when you first stepped onto this path.
You may not have had all the information when you said yes to it.
And there may be moments where you think, “I don’t know if I can do this.”
But if you’re in it…
Then you’re already someone who can walk it.
And you don’t have to do it alone.
We move through this better together.
One step at a time.
Even now.
And maybe that’s all we’re being asked to do right now…
Not to have it all figured out.
Not to know exactly where this is going.
But to stay present.
To keep moving.
To support each other along the way.
One step at a time.
And to trust… that even here… we are learning how to live, be, and thrive as the embodied souls we are.
Thank you so much for sharing this little adventure with me.
If you found it supportive, please like, share, subscribe or leave me a comment—it really does support getting the messages out to those who need them.
And I look forward to being with you next week on Embodied Soul.
