We've been walking, running and biking a path just down the road from our house. It's eye-opening to discover that despite living within a major city, we live on the edge of wild spaces. Just a few blocks away we have....
We've seen snakes, cranes, blue herons, hawks, geese, golfers and even a secret island homeless camp in this space between a water treatment plant, a golf course, industrial land and the international raceway. Wildflowers, views of the mountains, and vistas to wild blue skies.

But this weekend we simply went to the end of our street. We ran, then walked, then ran, then walked, and without leaving the street we live on, came upon this:

I'm reminded these things have always been there, this place between two rivers, so close to home. I just haven't seen them.
I struggle with the words to describe my transformation this year,
in my focus of intention. It's easy to get lost in the newness of a body that easily folds in on itself—crossing legs or folding up into various yoga poses, to wearing belts, to an ease of movement that comes quickly and without a change in breath. Some of these things may be foreign to you as you read them, but for those of us who have carried weight on our frames, you know.
There's a shedding of the noise around me and a centering of the voice within. I used to think I had to go elsewhere, to others, for help in losing weight. Diet programs, diet doctors, trainers or physicians: they had to have the answer, right? These programs—of others—have worked but never lasted, or stayed with me. They weren't mine. This time it's been different.
I've gone to myself. To the center, and to my inner voice. I knew what I needed to do. I knew what I needed to face. I brought in others to help me in different ways, but I never relied on someone else to make me make these changes. The answer was there, within myself, I just had to listen to it. It's been there all along.