Are other people's fears stopping you?

Recently, I attended a Joe Dispenza Week Long Advanced retreat in Denver, Colorado.

It was awesome! I’ll write more about it in another article.

Unfortunately, while I was waiting at the airport to return home, my flight got canceled.

The week-long retreat took place mostly inside a hotel conference room for six days, and I’m an outside kinda gal, so I figured I’d take advantage of the delay and explore the local terrain.

I had 36 hours to play so quickly rented a car and booked a hotel in Boulder.

When I checked in, I asked the young man behind the counter if there were any good hikes in the area.

He said, “Definitely! Check out the Royal Arch. It’s just down the road and it’s worth it.”

I looked up The Royal Arch on Alltrails.com

It’s listed as a “hard” hike and according to the reviews, it is quite challenging, but “worth it.”

It was July and pretty darn hot, so I decided I would hit the trail at 6:30am the following morning.

I called my husband and told him I was going to take a hike.

He said, “Absolutely NOT!”

“Why not?!”

“Because you are by yourself, it’s not safe, and you have a family that depends on you and needs you to come home.”

I understood his concerns, but I wasn’t worried about anything bad happening to me. To calm my hubby’s fears, I went back to the front desk and asked if the trail was safe.

The same young man behind the counter said, “Yes, it’s safe. It’s a popular trail and my wife hikes by herself all the time with our dog, and she’s never had a problem.”

I relayed the message to my husband and he said, “Nope. I still don’t want you going alone. There are bears out there.”

It’s a valid fear.

There are bears and mountain lions in the area where I wanted to hike, and I didn’t have a dog with me as a deterrent.

I told my hubby I would decide in the morning.

That night, when I was out to dinner in town (by myself), my sister-in-law texted and asked if I was stuck in Colorado.

I texted back that I was indeed in Colorado and was going to take a hike in the morning.

She said, “Be careful!! I watch a lot of murder-death-kill shows.”

I laughed because she does! Every time I visit, she’s watching some unsolved murder mystery.

I told her not to worry.

I would be careful.

There were a lot of fears being presented to me, but they weren’t my own.

I didn’t let it deter me and the following morning I headed out to Chautauqua Park trailhead.

By 6:30 am, the lot already had a bunch of cars parked in it.

I face-timed my husband so he could see the cars, but the phone service wasn’t working well and he couldn’t see what I could see. He had to trust that I was going to be okay.

I hit the trail and, as the reviews stated, it was very challenging!

It was 3.4 miles with a 1,469 elevation gain. I encountered only 4 other people on the trail that morning. There were 15 trails and connecting trails at the trailhead, so maybe the majority of folks were hiking on the less-challenging trails.

In any event, I made it to the top, and it was totally worth it!

I sat on the outcropping, called my husband, sent him pictures, and was able to Facetime him.

He said, “Wow! That’s beautiful. I wish I was there with you!”

I wished he was there with me, too. It’s always fun sharing exhilarating life experiences with people you love.

I texted my sister-in-law a picture of the arch (see below) and she said, “What is that? It’s so pretty!”

It is really pretty. It almost looks like a portal.

And, it certainly felt like one.

It transported me to a new elevation.

Had I let other people’s fear stop me from doing what I love to do, I wouldn’t have been able to experience that beautiful rock structure and view.

I also wouldn’t have been able to share it with the people in my life.

Granted, had I gotten eaten by a mountain lion or attacked by a bear, or murder-death-killed by a wandering psychopath, this story would have ended much differently.

And, that fear would have certainly been passed on to everyone in attendance at my funeral.

Thankfully, that didn’t happen.

Instead I was able to fill my cup doing something I loved.

People have lots of fears and many of them may be valid.

It’s wise to check in with your own heart and mind to see if those fears are true for you.

I believe, life is too short to live in fear.

Make sure you do the things you love to do, without any fear, especially if they are not your own.

Wishing you many happy and fearless trails!