This morning, I saw this list that Gretchen Rubin posted of what didn’t make it into the speech she gave for her daughter’s high school graduation last year. I like all of them except number 5. That one just seems like it’s too much about forcing your ideas on others, but all the rest rang true to me and are things I wish I had learned earlier in my life.
7 Practical Life Lessons for Graduates:
❶ When you can’t decide between two courses of action, choose the bigger life.
❷ Working is one of the most dangerous forms of procrastination.
❸ The place that hurts isn’t always the place that’s injured.
❹ You can choose what you do, but you can’t choose what you like to do.
❺ Every day, ask: “What’s something can I do to put my values into the world?”
❻ If you accept the blame when you deserve it, people will give you responsibility.
❼ Sometimes, to keep going, you have to allow yourself to stop.
Later in the morning I went for a fantastic hike with my friend Heather. We drove out to Tennessee Valley and then took the Hidden Spring Trail up to the Miwok Trail and then to the Coast Trail and finally a spur back down to Tennessee Valley Trail. It’s a loop that I have never done in the headlands and I’m so glad we did it because it was absolutely beautiful! There weren’t a lot of other hikers or bikers on the trail which made it even better, and it was also one that was a steady uphill climb then flattened out along the ridge for quite a while, which made it more enjoyable to check out the views.
I always love hanging out with Heather regardless of what we do because we always have such interesting conversations that seem to range all over the place – family, work, relationships, etc. The weather just got better as our hike went on and by the time we got back down to the Tennessee Valley trail, we were both tired and ready for a rest. We were also very grateful we weren’t headed the other way toward the beach as there were masses of people on the trail. Late Sunday mornings are obviously a very popular time to head out to Tennessee Valley beach.
When I got back, I finished packing my car up and hopped on the road to Calaveras Big Trees State Park where I’m going to be camping for a couple of days. It was hot going through the central valley, in the high 80s and low 90s, but it’s lovely cooler weather here because of the elevation. I’ll have a quiet evening tonight with a campfire and then tomorrow I’ll get out and do some hikes. I can’t wait!
