I have conquered a lot of fears since I moved out west. The move itself was incredibly terrifying – setting myself up 2,000 miles from my nearest friend, in order to teach people about a wilderness of rock I knew nothing about. Since then I have scaled thousand foot cliffs and crossed crevasses too deep to see the bottom. I’ve done yoga on top of an arch and manned a 4-wheel-drive vehicle in the backcountry. I’ve climbed waterfalls, hiked solo, and can name every rock layer in southeast Utah. I’ve learned to smile at strangers and make friends of enemies. I even bought a plane ticket and trekked across Spain on my own. They say the two most common fears amongst our population are fear of public speaking and fear of heights. I surmount both on a daily basis as I give presentations to groups of 40+ while scaling 30 ft. ladders and balancing cliff-side. Continue reading “Total, All Encompassing Fear”
Author: Mariana
I like to keep moving.
Attitude
Contemplating how happy I am these days brought me to the thought recently that attitude really does make the difference. This is probably not a huge revelation for most, and it wasn’t a totally unique idea to me either. What struck me though, is how easy it is for that thought to fall out of consciousness. Continue reading “Attitude”
10 Months and 6 Days Later
September 22, 2011, in some ways, was the biggest day of my life.
It was the day I got on a plane to Spain. Continue reading “10 Months and 6 Days Later”
Travel Bug
It was around this time last year that I bought my plane ticket to Spain. It’s been eight months since I’ve been back, and lately the Camino has been constantly on my mind. I’m missing it. How could I not? The experience was so incredible. But I know it can never be remade. Even if I walked the trail again, it wouldn’t be remotely the same experience. Continue reading “Travel Bug”
Fire, Fear, and Hope
Fire. It both frightens and fascinates. And these days I seem to be surrounded by it. Continue reading “Fire, Fear, and Hope”
Two Returns
I feel like myself again. Continue reading “Two Returns”
Winter & Spring
Well, my car is packed, and the only thing keeping me from moving to Mesa Verde at this moment is my own procrastination. This is why I figured now would be the perfect time to put together my annual seasonal slideshow. Enjoy!
To Give
I have a confession, single reader. A confession that has been weighing heavily on my heart. I feel like I owe you an explanation, since I’ve been writing so little in the past few months. Yes, I’ve spent a lot of time sick and recovering from different illnesses. Yes, I’ve been keeping busy, sometimes too busy to sit down at the computer. But the real reason I’ve strayed from this blog is simply because I’ve been unhappy. Not hugely unhappy, for the record. I still recognize how lucky I am to live and work in such a beautiful place. I still find myself for the most part surrounded by a loving, wonderful group of friends and family. But I’ve become dissatisfied with my position here, for more reasons than are really appropriate to go into on this blog. Continue reading “To Give”
Peace
My sole piece of responsibility as a volunteer here at Canyonlands is a trail monitoring project which, despite having been assigned to countless volunteers and seasonals in the past, I quickly discovered didn’t actually exist. The idea that someone would slack on such a fun project honestly blew my mind, as I always saw it as the best excuse imaginable to spend less time in the visitor center and more on the trail. But really I should be thanking these lazy former co-workers of mine, because without their lack of enthusiasm I never would have ended up with the sweetest piece of freedom and creativity ever sitting in my lap. So after a week or so of writing proposals and SOPs, I got my ideas for a trail monitoring system approved and hit the ground running. Continue reading “Peace”
Forwarded: ‘Motley Crew’
Well, I have 3 posts under construction at the moment… but birthdays, potlucks, and Colorado trips have been absorbing so much of my free time that I haven’t gotten around to finishing them. Continue reading “Forwarded: ‘Motley Crew’”
marianaonthemove.com 