By Susan Nash
I recently spent 3 days hiking the Appalachian Trail, in 4 different states with 10 other women, all members of The Forever Young Adventurers Facebook group. These ladies range in age from 62 to 71, and come from various backgrounds. Some are related to each other (sisters, even), some are classmates, neighbors, cancer survivors and some are brand new friends. But, no matter the variety, they came together as one big support group laughing, sharing, encouraging and watching out for each other, making sure no one was left behind.
Hiking the grueling Appalachian Trail is a big deal in and of itself, but doing it with a group of women was extremely affirming and inspirational. There was Debbie, whose hair was just barely growing back in after her chemo treatments…and MaryAnn, who deals daily with severe back pain and wore pain patches the entire hike. The inspiration I got from them was endless. The fact that we all tackled the challenges of the rocky, mountainous trail fearlessly as a group was affirming….WE DID IT!!
What does all this have to do with art, you ask? Art comes from life…as I said in an earlier post, we are inspired by….basically what we are inspired by….but more than that, we are inspired by what we love, or what makes our heart and soul sing. These ladies inspired me to keep hiking and climbing up and crawling down, even when I thought I was done. They made me laugh out loud. They are an affirmation that life is good and worth “going for the gusto”. Plus, did I mention how beautiful those rugged mountain trails were? Inspiration, affirmation and art all come together in that place where you are following the whispers of your heart. Do you agree? Be on the lookout for some newly inspired art.
