Ride the Wave of Change (dot org)

Two years ago my friend Meaghan and I taught a yoga retreat together in Costa Rica. It was an amazing experience. Afterward, we stuck around for an extra week to surf, slackline and beach bunny it up.

One day we were packing up our beach gear a little closer to sunset than usual to head back to the hostel. It was getting dark fast. Really fast. So we took what seemed like a shortcut through this bamboo forest. A heavy longboard slung between us, Meaghan walked in front as I tried to keep pace from the rear. We had about five minutes left before it would be difficult to see at all (ah, jungle life), and I had no idea how long this path would meander before spitting us back onto the road. Or if in fact it would spit us back onto the road.

We were lost, and not sure if the situation was improving or getting worse. (That's what it means to be truly lost, isn't it?)

I was getting scared and was certain the feeling would go away if I knew Meaghan wasn't. I'd feel less alone as I tripped over the tree roots in my flip flops behind her. Meaghan never really seems to be scared, I thought to myself. She's a pretty brazen girl and keeps a strong pace forward in life -- and on this trail. So I called up to her, "Hey Meaghan, you scared?"

"Yup!" She said it brightly, without missing a beat.

We both started laughing. She knew exactly what I had been feeling, and it was hilarious that she didn't give me the answer I'd wanted.

But then I did feel less alone, if not less afraid. At least we were facing the fear together. It was real, but so was our togetherness. That, and the big surfboard we had to defend ourselves if some wild animal showed up.

Meaghan is on my mind a lot this week. She's riding her bike across the freaking country. After putting all her stuff in storage and flying out to Seattle last week, she's now on Day 2 of pedaling back to her hometown in Connecticut. She's doing it to raise awareness for sustainable living and funds for three different charities (and she's already done a lot of that -- check out ridethewaveofchange.org).

I keep thinking about all the fear she's going to conquer along the way. It makes me miss her a lot. Even though I'm not pulling up the rear, I still sort of am. Go, Meaghan, go!