Shores Lake Hiking Photo

This week’s photo was taken along a beautiful hiking trail that heads off into the woods from the Shores Lake Campground.  Shores Lake is located about 15 miles north of Mulberry, Arkansas in the Boston Mountain Ranger District of a national forest.  As you can see, it is a gorgeous place to take a hike.

I love this photo because the scenery behind me looks like a fake backdrop.  The way the flash lit me up, it appears that I’ve been superimposed.  However, I can assure you that no one has altered this picture with Photoshop or anything else.  This is the way it came out of the camera and yes, the scenery truly is as beautiful as it appears.

The best time to hike the Shores Lake loop is either early Spring or late Fall when it is cool.  Also, it helps if the area has received a decent amount of recent rainfall.  The whole experience is just better if the vegetation is green and the creeks are flowing.

The Paradoxes I Discovered This Week

How wonderful that we have met with a paradox. Now we have some hope of making progress.  ~ Niels Bohr

A paradox is a statement of contradiction.  I’m a thinker so I love a good paradox.  Here are a few articles that have helped me think this week.

• Take More Time to Get Less Stuff Done
• How To Budget After Losing Your Job
• Give Yourself a Break – and Become More Productive
• Why I’ve Decided to Be Wrong More Often
• 10 Reasons Not to have a Will

I hope you enjoy this week’s photo and paradoxes.  May they inspire you to think and spur you to action.  Have a great weekend!

Sometimes we get swept away by the current of life.  We wake-up, rush to get ready, hurry to work, come home, make dinner and go to bed without ever really living.

We become stressed out, burned out and worn out.  One day we wake up and realize we are just going through the motions.  Life has lost its meaning and purpose.

We feel numb.  We live like a robot just repeating the same actions every day, but not ever really feeling anything.

Is this you?  If so, then it might be time for a life-changing vacation.

What is a life-changing vacation?

A life-changing vacation is one with a purpose.  They are designed to help you reawaken and rediscover the real you.  Most life-changing vacations are a little challenging.  They push you out of your comfort zone to bring you back to life.

Think back to your last vacation.  First, can you even remember it?  Second, what do you have to show for it?  Did it really refresh and rejuvenate you?

A life-changing vacation will give you the chance to regroup and rethink your direction in life.  It will remind you that there is more to living than what you may be experiencing now.

7 ideas to help you plan a life-changing vacation

There are numerous possibilities when it comes to life-changing vacations.  However, your local travel agent is not likely to be much help for such a trip.

You are going to have to do more of the research and planning on your own to find exactly what’s right for you.  Keep in mind that not all life-changing vacations are going to appeal to you.  Keep looking until you find something that really lights your fire.

Here are some ideas to help you get started designing your life-changing vacation:

1.  Go on a long thru-hike on a great trail

America has some fantastic hiking trails that offer the opportunity to spend weeks, if not months, outdoors.  For example, if you thru-hiked the entire Appalachian Trail from Georgia all the way to Maine, it would take 4 to 7 months.

This would give you a lot of time to detoxify your mind, reflect on your life and make decisions about the future.  If you enjoy backpacking and the great outdoors, then this might be just the kind of trip you need.

If you don’t live on the East Coast, then never fear because you have other thru-hike options.  The Appalachian is not the only such trail.  There is also the Ozark Highlands Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail just to name a couple of the more popular ones.

All of these trails offer you time away from it all to clear your mind and sort out your life.  In addition, you’ll experience some breathtaking beauty along the way!

2.  Listen to the quiet on a silent retreat

Our world is full of noise.  There are people all around us in our families, at work, in books, on television and yes, even online trying to tell us how to live our lives.  It can all be overwhelming!

You may feel like you just need some peace and quiet to sort out what you think without anyone else’s advice.  If so, then a silent retreat might be just the answer you are looking for.

Most silent retreats are situated in a beautiful, inspiring setting void of all sources of noise and distractions.  They give you a wonderful opportunity to center yourself again and clear your mind.  We could all probably use a silent retreat once a month year.

If a silent retreat sounds enticing to you, then you are in luck because there are several silent retreat locations to choose from all over the U.S. and Canada.

3.  Rediscover your inner-self at an art retreat or workshop

For many, engaging in a artistic discipline like writing, music, drawing, sculpting, acting or photography is like therapy for their soul.  It gives them a chance to express themselves and to unwind from all the craziness of life.

However, it is sometimes difficult to find the time and space to fully engage because well-meaning kids, spouses and friends keep interrupting the creative process.  This can be frustrating to the point that many give up all together on that which is their emotional outlet.

Fortunately, there are many art retreats and workshops that one can attend.  You can use RetreatFinder.com to locate such events in your area.  You can also use Google to search for retreats.  I did a quick search and found the California Center for Creative Renewal as just one example.

An art retreat or workshop might be just the thing to rejuvenate you and provide you the clarity you are looking for!

4.  Challenge yourself with an outdoor adventure

Beyond thru-hikes, there are a plethora of other options for life-changing outdoor adventures.  The Great Outdoors offers the challenges needed to help one regain confidence, independence and assertiveness.

As an example, Outward Bound offers wilderness expeditions designed to “inspire character development, self-discovery and service”.  They believe the challenges from activities like climbing a mountain, sailing the ocean and paddling a whitewater river are perfect ways to discover your true strength and resourcefulness.

Of course, outdoor adventures include inherent risks and require one to be at a reasonable level of physical health.  If you need to take a bold step to reawaken your inner strength, then an outdoor adventure might be just the ticket!

5.  Help others on a mission trip or volunteer vacation

Sometimes we need to expand our world and get outside of ourselves to regain the proper perspective on life.  We often lose touch with just how fortunate we really are.  We need the chance to get back to the basics of living and giving.

Meeting the physical, spiritual and emotional needs of others might stimulate your passion and purpose for life again.  Feeling significant is something we all strive for, but often lose in modern society.  This type of trip will open your eyes to what you can do to help.

A mission trip with your local church or a volunteer vacation will benefit you as much as it does those you go to serve.   Many people report the positive value of such trips and the life-changing experiences they encountered.

6.  Rejuvenate your marriage with a romantic getaway

Our marriages play a big role in our lives.  It only makes sense then that investing in your marriage can change your life.  It can add to your fulfillment, joy and overall satisfaction.

If your marriage has suffered from neglect, then a romantic getaway might rejuvenate it and help you to recover those lost feelings of love and excitement. 

Wasn’t there a time that your spouse was your greatest joy and the only person you wanted to be with?  Well, they are still the same person!  A trip like this might help to remind you of the things you loved so much about them.

I suggest checking out Great Romantic Getaways for Couples in the USA for some neat ideas in all 50 states.  You can’t go wrong trying to improve your most important relationship with a life-changing vacation!

7.  Rethink the significance of your life on a wondrous pilgrimage

Pilgrimages have traditionally been trips of spiritual or religious significance.  For instance, many Christians make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to see the places talked about in the Bible and Muslims are expected to make the trip to Mecca during Hajj at least once in their lifetime.

These trips can help one to reconnect with their spiritual beliefs and rediscover a deeper meaning in life.  Of course, it isn’t just the trip itself, but the people you meet along the way on the same path to discovery that makes a pilgrimage so valuable.

If you’ve lost your way and feel life is meaningless, then a pilgrimage of your choice could be just the kind of life-changing vacation that you need!

Take a life-changing vacation that you’ll never forget

You might not remember your last vacation, but I guarantee that you’ll never forget a truly life-changing vacation!  I hope one of these ideas has helped you to develop some ideas of your own.  Remember, there is no such thing as “one size fits all” in this matter.  You want to research it until you find something especially suited to your tastes and needs.

Have you ever taken a life-changing vacation?  How did it go?

Photo by jesse.millan

There is nothing in this world that rejuvenates me like getting outdoors!  My wife and I had the chance this past weekend to get away for three days so we took a little trip to the Fort Smith, Arkansas area. 

We chose this area because a few years ago I went on a backpacking trip with a couple of buddies in the Ozark National Forest.  It was absolutely gorgeous and I wanted to show my wife.  I was very glad we went!

Today, I thought I’d share some of the pictures from our trip.  Just looking at them stirs my passion for getting outside and enjoying all the beauty nature has to offer.  I hope they encourage you to plan your own outdoor adventure!

“Keep close to Nature’s heart… and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.”
~ John Muir

There is absolutely nothing in this world that washes my soul clean like spending time in the great outdoors!  It doesn’t matter whether it is hiking, camping, scuba diving, backpacking, mountain biking, or kayaking.  I love it all!  The closer I am to Nature’s heart, the better.  For me, this is definitely part of living life to its fullest!

The forest and stream in the photo above looks like a backdrop used in a photo studio, but I swear it is real!  This is exactly the way the picture came out of our digital camera.  All I could say along the way to my wife was, “Wow!  Look at that!  Isn’t it just gorgeous?”  She probably got tired of hearing me repeat the same thing over and over!

There is something about beautiful natural scenery that rejuvenates and feeds my soul like nothing else in this world.  I feel the most alive when I’m drinking in all that nature has to offer.  Being outdoors is the most inspiring place for me to be.

Everything was just so green and lush!  I loved the size of these boulders along the trail.  The moss that covered them just added to their beauty.  There were just so many amazing and awesome sights to behold.  I always wonder, “How did that get there?”

This waterfall was the ultimate destination for our hike.  Isn’t it gorgeous?   It was about three miles back in the woods.  Nearby is a primitive campground where my buddies and I camped on my previous trip.  The water is cold, but this pool makes a great swimming hole.  Ready to dive in with me?

What washes your soul clean?  Leave a comment below and let me know!