Looking forward.....

The woman who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd.   The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever been before.  - Albert Einstein

I'm constantly searching for new quotes to place on my jewelry.  This one I find particularly fitting after my recent hike up Camelback Mountain in Arizona.  I set off alone, eager to prove to myself that I could conquer it.  I happily passed the markers gaining confidence as I went, smiling and chatting with the other hikers on a beautiful - however cool - Arizona morning.  As I continued to look forward and upward I carried myself along the mountain and looked forward to taking a picture from the top to prove to my fiance and his friend that I had indeed made it.  Suddenly my foot slipped on some loose gravel and I slid down the narrowing path.  I stopped to sit and stop my shaking legs and made the mistake of looking back.  And DOWN.  It was a steep, rocky, loooong way to the bottom, baby, and I was scared.  After a few minutes I stopped shaking and was able to force myself to move again, back down the mountain.  The first five minutes of the descent were humiliating at best and I tried not to cling to the rocks when other hikers were near, but I'm sure the look on my face said it all. Needless to say, I made it safely back down without the mountaintop picture but with a little more insight.  We're all going to slip,  the trick is to keep looking forward and upward because looking back only prevents the best things from happening.  Next time I'm getting the picture...