{Hiking path at the Tillman Swamps}

What a hot and humid summer, it has kept me busy indoors most of this summer but this is a rare hike this summer.

It has been so busy and I feel like I have allowed this humid whirlwind of a summer to prevent me from what I love the most - hiking.

Although I have been busy, I have also had time to be with my thoughts and memories that have been flooding my heart lately, even though it has been hard, it has been good to ruminate, allow the past to come to some conclusions and then move on

I remember being told that "You are that kind of person who likes the woodsy, outdoors type of crap ...", been derogatorily called "Danielle Boone" and "Lisa is one of those weird people who needs to be left in the woods" ...

WOW - really?

Why is someone who is a female and can hunt, hike, camp, tan my own hides and carry my own hatchet be considered a tomboy and be so negatively looked at?   I grew up this way and I choose to continue to live this way and embrace my passions for the outdoors, also, the next time I am asked what my name is, I will square my shoulders, lift my head up high, look that person eye to eye and proudly introduce myself as "Danielle Boone" with the firmest handshake they have ever encountered ... I will never be embarrassed about how I grew up, my passions and the fact that I can catch, skin, tan the hide and cook that squirrel for breakfast ever again.

I have realized that it is the hardships and the negativity that has deepened and solidified who I am for it is the hard times that are just as important and an integral part of my adventurous journey of life as well as the good times.

Whenever you read a book, watch a movie or a T.V. show  that has to have bad things happen to the protagonists that keeps us interested and how they overcome and keeps us coming back to watch more, as in Freytag's Pyramid

My favorite reads are books from the Medieval/ Middle English era of literature such as Beowulf, Saga of the Volsungs, The Fairie Queen, Le Mort D’Arthur and such ... the breathtaking sagas of danger, escapes, tragedies, battles, loves and troubles abound - I am extremely smitten by these lores yet when hardships enter into our own lives how do we respond? We can wimp out or we can face these challenges head-on and figure out how to handle it ...

Well, my decision?  

1. Forgive those people in my life that have been wretched towards  me because I will not allow forgiveness in my life to prevent me from going forward
2. Write out my goals and plans and the steps to attain them allowing room for when problems happen 
3. Know that problems will happen, mistakes will happen and mean people will happen but I am going to live my life purposed regardless 
4. Forgive myself - forgive myself for my own mistakes, my own times of meanness, my own foolish decisions and determine to change

 Life is exciting, life is a combination of good and bad, my attitude is my choice and I choose to stay healthy and forgiving and I am going to go after my dreams, my goals and my life

Adventurously Yours, 

               




            Danielle Boone

       

                                                                                                                             (Kayaking on a hot day                                                                                                                                 Buffalo River Grain Elevator Alley)

        

                       
              

My Crazy Adventure called Life

As a friend I need to be honest with you about my wrong thinking:

          It may seem crazy but my entire life I have always wanted to live a life of grand adventure, go on journeys, throw caution to the wind ... yeah, you get it

        But instead:

 My life has been filled with bumps, bruises, broken bones, broken hearts, deaths, that always left me wondering when I would live this life of adventure I longed for my whole life ~  I was sorely disappointed and fought depression more than I fought for causes  

       Until:

             I had a stroke that took me to the edge of death .....

  ~ A stroke that still affects me to this day

                   This changed my life and I learned a secret that I never noticed before then

OK - backup: 

               As an avid reader I loved adventure especially during the medieval literature such as

~The Faerie Queene  ~Beowulf  ~Sir Gawain and the Green Knight  ~Saga of the Volsungs  ~Don Quixote 

...

While in the hospital mending and healing I realized that I have two choices laid out before me

      The Bible explains: 

Deuteronomy 30:19

This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live

          1) I could be bitter like all the others on my floor (whooo - they were bitter & nasty)

                                           or 

          2) I can take on this challenge and fight to come back . . .  

I chose to:

                                       ~ F   I   G   H   T ~

                I am still here, alive after a fight unlike any other ... 

So ~  

                

                   What did I learn?   

      We look at difficulties with a wrong viewpoint on hardships - instead, this is an opportunity to test and prove who we are.  Meet those challenges head on and overcome because hardships are going to come, become a warrior

     

     Just like those adventure novels I would get lost in, you and I are already living EPIC tales of Adventure with ripe plots filled with journeys, strange worlds, facing great odds with dangers, struggles, hardships, escapes and close calls to where it seems like no end is in sight – yet we, the protagonists, make it through becoming a larger-than-life hero/ heroine with the sweetness of overcoming.....  so change the way you look at things

     This is the stuff people have written about down through the ages, real and created, and I have come to the conclusion that an adventure filled life is not just when things go smoothly but includes all of the good mingled with adversity that makes us and our journey come to life.

The next time you encounter a hard time or trial - either it be physical, financial, loss, family challenges - what are you going to do?

Some secrets I have learned: 

     1) First and foremost - PRAY, I stay on my knee

 

     2) Decide - give up or fight 

     3) Surround yourself with strong, trustworthy friends & family who have your back.                     

                   After all, even Frodo Baggins had Samwise Gamgee - we were not created to be lone wolves - there is a reason they are in packs.

Blessings to you ~

...as you rethink your life, stop existing and begin living your own Epic Journey called Life