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I tied my new hiking shoes tight

And adjusted my compression socks and bandana

I double-checked my backpack

Water, protein bar, bear spray, notepad

Pen, pencil, marker, knife- all good

I set out on my own two feet for the first time in forever

With knees ten years older

And a scarred heart, broken and tired

Though not but a mile later

Somewhere halfway up a seemingly endless uphill trail

I was out of breath and gasping

My chest growing tight

I started to feel like Paul on the long road to Damascus

Because if I was going to finish this trail

And find the exit all the way around

By the swingsets, teeter-totters, and splash pool

Then I would need divine intervention

It was then I was passed by a man carrying nothing

He did not break his feather-light stride

But he turned and hiked backwards as he told me

“Grams become ounces

Ounces become pounds

Pounds become tons

And only when you are old

And your back is crooked

Will you realize you’ve been crushed under

The weight of things you couldn’t let go

Don’t let yesterday’s mistakes become today’s excuse.”