The definition of challenge states:  "Something needing great mental or physical effort in order to be done successfully, or the situation of facing this kind of effort."  So often, we are faced in a world that honors and respects those who overcome the biggest challenge.   But, I'd like to contest that idea and ask the real question which is: who hasn't faced a challenged?

My challenge this month is not so unique. Injuries: we all get them (physically and emotionally). Some of us more often than others. So, what happens when these types of challenges enter in your life? Do you succumb to the pressure and  give up, or grow from this challenge?

I am notoriously impatient and reckless when it comes to my body. I love that thin line in which I so often straddle between ludicrously and pain. I somehow manage to find some moments of peace while I am there until it breaks. Often this break happens at the most inconvenient time, one in which you are more heavily relying on something than you should. Because life is unpredictable and depending on just one thing to keep you up right, can and will create major problems.  When you end alone in a new place and place you call home is in the mountains, it makes it difficult not to chase this feeling.  So often life forces you to stop, face your fears and your truths... My truths often come in the form of questions , such as: how did I leave my family and friends in New York and end up here?  Did I stop at any point and consider what I was leaving behind in order to find new adventures? Man, I do I miss them.

The call for adventure rings so strongly in my bones , I don't know how to quench this thirst until I have no choice but to do so.  But there is freedom and choice in the break, I again get to prove to myself I am able to handle << most>> of the curve balls that life throws at me. I wanted to come to Portland to prove to myself that I am capable of being on my own and starting fresh. Well, Danielle, here ya go. You asked for it and you received that challenge.  Injuries, pain, heart break and trouble (for the most part) is all temporary and a part of the journey. And perhaps, this injury and move has come to teach me that acceptance in the moment is all we have control over. We cannot change the outcome, the weather, other people's choices; we can only control how we respond.

So as I bike, I imagine my happy place among the mountains and can almost taste the freedom that comes with it. As I continue to heal, I am relearning how to trust myself and the choices I have made. Because, after all, I am the only one in control of what happens next in my life.    Happy trails, folks.      

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