The Walk, Palm Springs, CA
The night before I had planned to go on a walk early in the morning with a friend. However, when morning came things just didn’t work out and I was left to walk on my own. Now mind you, every other morning I had walked with a group of people and was so engrossed in our conversations that I never paid any attention to the route we took. So this particular morning I was not only by myself, but I was lost!
I started out my walk around the 26 acre hotel property and quickly realized that I was definitely not going in the direction that we had gone in days before. Instead I found myself walking to a large parking lot. I was able to see the mountains in the distance between two buildings I passed – which stopped me in my tracks. There was a beautiful rainbow forming.
I continued to walk and found myself in the parking lot where I was able to see the other half of the rainbow come to life! It quickly appeared for a photo and then disappeared again a few minutes later. I never would have seen this rainbow if I hadn’t gone on a walk by myself and gotten lost! **Now mind you Palm Springs is in the desert – it doesn’t rain there often!!!! So the likelihood of seeing a rainbow isn’t that great!
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I continued walking with the goal of walking towards the mountains because they were so stunning.
At this very intersection I called my husband (back in North Carolina) just to let him know I was going on a walk by myself. There is no way for the grandness of these mountains to be displayed in these pictures. They were just ginormous, towering over the city on very flat ground. I all of a sudden broke out in tears seeing that rainbow still at the top of mountain surrounded by clouds. It reminded me that in life there are many battles and hardships that you have to go OVER in order to get to the rainbow, the prize. My emotions and senses were fully in tune with the nature around me and I quickly got off the phone and headed towards the mountains, on the most spiritual walk of my life.
I thought about what Shaklee’s amazing CEO and Owner said during one of his speeches: “you come alive when you travel because you use more of your senses when you’re in unfamiliar territory”. This quote lingered with me the entire walk. I’ve always loved traveling and loved being in nature – but I was finally in a situation where I was experiencing true euphoria – and reflection all at the same time.
Along my walk I came to a point where I was alongside very tall bushes that towered over me and were dark on the other side. It was a bit scary and I thought about how in my Shaklee journey and life in general there have been many scary moments – moments like beginning my business and not having any idea what I was doing. But still, when I looked up, the rainbow was still at the top of the mountain shining bright.
I came to a point where there was a construction truck – I thought about how this resembled building my business. You need tools, supplies and most of all a crew. In order to get where you want to go it takes hard work and determination.
But despite all of your hard work and determination sometimes it rains just like the sprinklers I passed…
And sometimes it plain out pours like this sprinkler that was spraying like a fire hydrant! It’s really hard to see past all of the troubles we may face at times but it’s so important to know that these are just part of the journey.
I passed three people while walking:
One person smiled and said hello and this reminded me of sometimes people get on board and join our businesses either as a customer or a team member.
One person didn’t say anything and simply walked quickly passed me not making any eye contact. This reminded me of the people that we meet that despite all of our efforts never decide to join with us on this journey – or even decide they don’t want to be apart of our lives anymore for various reasons.
The last person I passed was walking a dog – this reminded me of the people that we meet that have a lot of baggage that accompanies them. Sometime they’re able to let go of their baggage and sometimes they are not. But regardless of their situation we are called to love them where they are at in their own personal journeys.
As I continued walking I came to a vacant lot that was a bit overrun with weeds and brush. Sometimes in our business we feel like this vacant lot. Overwhelmed and unsure of where to go or what to do next.
As I kept walking I came to an intersection and was told to “stop”. Sometimes in our businesses we simply need to do just that. Stop! We need to take time to self reflect, time to remember what is important to us, time to love on ourselves and give ourselves the space and time needed to overcome obstacles that were standing in our way. And when we do this we are still able to see the rainbow at the top of the mountain – the top of our struggles.
But no matter what, every time I turned around the rainbow was still there, shining brightly through the clouds at the top of the mountain.
You need to stand strong for what you believe in and guard your beliefs, just like this fence was protecting the Statue of Liberty. Be convicted and don’t waiver.
Remember the path you traveled and be thankful for all of the bumps, hills, mountains, and rainstorms you went through! Without trails and errors you you will never reach your goals or grow to be a better human being.
Get rid of any head trash you have: self-doubt, fear, negativity brought on by others. Because when you look back and retrace your steps…
You will always see your rainbow!
I made it back to the hotel well over an hour later. I of course got lost again and found myself walking by a hotel room where a father and daughter were walking out. The dad was speaking so loudly, almost as if I was supposed to hear everything he said. He said to his daughter “look!!! It’s a rainbow!!” Just then his wife walked out and he said “She asked for a rainbow last night!!! There’s a rainbow!” He then said to his little daughter “It is so delightful and beautiful! Should we go to the bottom and see if we can find the pot of gold?”
This of course turned my waterworks back on in full stream. It was the perfect thing I needed to hear. The night before I had actually recorded a 9 minute, very personal message to my team about the leader I am and the leader I want to become. So in turn I asked for my own rainbow…just like the little girl.
When I got back to my room…
I opened my drapes and the rainbow was the brightest it had been the entire morning!!
I hurried and got ready and went outside to get ready to leave for home and….
The rainbow was complete!! And I had a heart full of conviction! Conviction for what I’m doing, conviction for who I am and who I am becoming. Conviction for my family and our future. Conviction for my team. Conviction for moving past all of those that have doubted me, stood in my way, and even tried to take me down. I had a renewed spirit and knew for the very first time that I actually did deserve to be where I was…and that was a powerful, powerful feeling!
