500 miles: Cardboard Boxes
š„¾ Zero Days: Filling Life With What Matters
Iāve taken a few weeks off from sharing my 500-mile journey.
On the trail, weād call that taking zero days.
Days where you donāt hike.
Days where you donāt push forward.
Days where you stopā¦ on purpose.
Sometimes life gets in the way.
And thatās okay.
Because life isnāt something to rush throughāitās something to live.
I learned that on the trail.
This isnāt a race.
Itās a journey.
One meant to be savored.
So I stepped off the trail for a bitānot because Iād lost momentum, but because I wanted to be present. My focus shifted to family, because when everything else falls away, relationships are what remain.
Everything else is frosting.
And without the cake, frosting doesnāt matter muchāand after a while, it doesnāt taste very good either.
š¦ The Cardboard Box
I think it was the death of my father that truly changed how I see life.
When we cleaned out his bedroom, everything that matteredāeverything he keptāfit into a single, small cardboard box.
Inside were photographs.
Memories.
A lifetime reduced to moments captured on paper.
Photos of his life.
Of my mom.
Of us.
Of family who had lived and died before him.
There was the folded flag that had draped his coffināhonoring his military service.
A few odd mementos.
Nothing extravagant.
Nothing replaceable.
Just meaning.
And I realized something quietly profound:
When the end comes, what matters most fits into a boxānot because itās small, but because itās essential.
ā¤ļø What I Want to Leave Behind
When I think about what my children would take from my lifeā¦
It could also fit into a cardboard box.
Almost all of it would be things they gave me.
But what I want to give them?
That wonāt fit in a box.
Itās too big.
Itās my love for them.
The way theyāve shaped my life.
The laughter.
The presence.
The stories.
The time.
Itās the way my friends have walked beside me.
The way family shows upāsometimes quietly, sometimes fiercely.
The way love makes life richer, fuller, and more meaningful than anything money can buy.
šæ So I Took Zero Days
I took a few zero days.
Not because I was tired of the journeyā
but because I wanted to fill my life with love.
And that, too, is part of the trail.
So if life asks you to pauseā¦
If your heart needs restā¦
If the people you love need youā¦
Donāt be afraid to take zero days.
They donāt mean youāre falling behind.
They mean youāre living well.
š A Quiet Invitation
If your life were gathered into a single cardboard boxā¦
what would be inside?
A photo?
A letter?
A memory that still makes you smileāor ache a little?
And if youāre comfortable sharing, Iād love to hear.
Not to compare. Not to judge.
Just to honor the moments and people that made your life richer.
Take your time.
Thereās no rush on this trail. Remember, hike your own hike.
Hugs,
Susan
Such an interesting question. I'm still mulling. But the first thing I thought of was the books I've written. They are such a quintessential digest of me. In them you'll find my experiences, my education, things I know, things I'd love to know, things I've done, things I'd love to do. Etc. And yeah. "Stuff" doesn't matter.