Photo by Elizabeth Halt
Photo by Elizabeth Halt

follow your excitement

January 8, 2015

elizabethhalt.com | follow your excitement

my nephew lars likes to do somersaults.

the first few times lars asked me to do a somersault, i tried – i really did – but then my head and feet were on the floor and my butt was in the air and i just didn’t have the nerve to lift my legs up and over. it seemed so far from here to there and i was afraid. after that, i said no whenever he asked me to do one. but i still wanted to do a somersault. i really did. (also, i wanted to not be afraid of them.)

finally, a few weeks ago – after my mom and my brother reminded me not to put my head on the floor – i crouched down and swayed back and forth a few times and then i flung myself forward and over. i rolled through the somersault and found myself sitting cross-legged on the floor – head and limbs intact, slightly dizzy.

i had done it! i had done a somersault! i was so delighted. now lars does a somersault and then i do a somersault and it is so much fun.

last weekend, i went cross-country skiing with my dad and my sister.

cross-country skiing is big here. there are a number of excellent trail systems in the area, including one less than a mile from my house. since i moved back, whenever anyone asked if i skied, or if i’d gone skiing, i’d explain that i didn’t ski because i didn’t enjoy it.

that story seemed true. it was formed during a cross-country ski outing when i was young that was pure drudgery.

if i paid close attention, i noticed that there was a tiny bit of excitement when i thought about trying it again – after all, i enjoy many things now that i disliked when i was young – but i ignored the excitement because i was locked into that old story.

until last weekend, when my dad and my sister decided to go cross-country skiing at night. night skiing sounded idyllic, so i decided to join them.

it was so. much. fun.

the black sky. the white snow on the dark green trees. the swish swish swish of my skis in the tracks. the welcoming glow of the lights on the trail. my shrieks as i sped down each hill. the whistle of the wind. my slightly numb fingers encased in a pair of gloves and a pair of mittens.

so. much. fun.

there is something important for me here.

i don’t know where it will lead, or why it is important, but i want to pay closer attention to what excites me, and follow the trail of that excitement.

do you do this already?

is it easy for you?

how are you at recognizing and following the trail of your excitement?

9 comments... (add a comment)

  1. Sometimes you have to do it to know if you like it. Doing is always the hard part.

  2. I don’t do this easily as I did as a child, but I am also trying to reconnect now that I am retired and not working my life away.

  3. So beautifully written..such a fun-spirited post! Wonderful and insightful! Beautiful image too.
    Victoria

  4. elizabeth

    Jerry: Sometimes for sure. Maybe even often.

    Donna: Children are so good at this. I love watching my niblings follow their excitement. Wishing you ease + joy as you reconnect!

    Victoria: Thank you! It was fun to write, so I am glad to hear it struck you in that way. So glad you stopped by.

  5. Bette

    OK. OK. You dragged me out of lurking! ha. ha.

    I, too, watch how un-afraid the little ones are. I think we tell our old bodies that we can’t do things. I am proud of you and your somersault!

  6. i used to somersault and cartwheel all the time!
    haven’t done either in soooooooo long!!!
    but your fun is contagious!
    and the picture . . . so beautiful
    and cross country skiing at night . . .
    well.
    that just sounds like heaven.
    i’m so glad you’re growing your excitement!!!

  7. elizabeth

    Bette: This is so serendipitous because I was thinking about you yesterday afternoon. I was going to write a post-script in my next post that said, “Secret message to Bette: You are a frosting goddess.” I’d probably forget, but then here you are! Here’s to old-young bodies and new tricks.

    Tammy: Cartwheel! I am envious of your cartwheels. They have always eluded me. But someday. I am determined.

  8. That photo is so enticing. It looks like you’re headed into a magical wonderland.

    I think the older we get, the less often we have an opportunity to “follow the trail of excitement.” This is such a good reminder to seek out the trail more often!

    • elizabeth

      I think you are right! I wonder why that is. Maybe because so much of what we do/know *is* known by then, so there is less new overall? I want to ponder this more.

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