This way home

I was hiking back to the car along the Gunpowder Falls trail and I didn’t know which way to go. I came to a fork in the trail that I hadn’t noticed on the way out.⠀So I stood there a minute, hot and sweaty and looking right and left trying to remember which way I’d come when I noticed a beautiful little cairn on the trail to the right, leading up a hill.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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A cairn is a little tower of rocks. Hikers used to place them to mark the trail, and I love to build them in random spots as a fun surprise for future hikers.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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To me they say “welcome” and “enjoy your hike” and “others have passed this way.”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I had built it as a fun surprise for someone else, and now I stumbled upon it for myself. And it got me thinking.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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When things are going well, maybe that’s the time to leave yourself a mark in the road. Write yourself a note reminding yourself of the things you love, and the paths that you can take that bring you happiness.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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One thing that brings me back to myself is a morning walk. When I'm feeling overwhelmed and out of sorts, the last thing I want to do is get up early and take a walk. But I have left enough messages for myself that I know that's what I need to do.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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So when you find yourself on an amazing path, make some markers so you can find a way back. A note or a message you might need to hear. Then when the path diverges and you're not which sure which way to go, read that message from your loving self so you can find a way back.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀