Happy Friday! Here in Michigan, spring is in the air and it is warm and sunny, a fitting time to start a new journey!
On that note, welcome to the first release of my newsletter! You’re one of the first 20 people receiving this, so thanks for being here and I’m excited to have you along for the journey. We’re exploring building connected and thriving lives overflowing with abundance. It’s a newsletter about vulnerability, risk taking, connection, re-enchanting our lives and the world. We’re exploring finding deep roots and abundant futures. Inspired by over 4,000 miles hiked on the Appalachian Trail and Continental Divide Trail.
It’s always 100% human written, by me. From the heart.
Today, we’re exploring letting go. I hope you enjoy it.
Letting Go: What I lost on the Appalachian Trail
By: Amy Johnson
What are you ready to let go of? Perhaps a belief that’s holding you back? A job or a relationship that no longer feels authentic? Or that thing in the back of your closet you haven’t touched in years?
What would fill the space created?
Empty space doesn’t stay empty- like a vacuum, it draws something in. In a world overflowing with information, obligations, and noise (and AI only making this worse), we often fear or avoid empty space, never even giving it a chance to exist. We focus mostly on the things we’d like to add to our lives- more health, better relationships, more knowledge, more money. We work desperately to add things to our lives, and never seem to find all the time and resources we think we need. But is it possible that the things we desire may already be much closer than we realize, perhaps all around us already, just out of sight– if only we begin to give them the space they need? Perhaps what we lose may be just as important as what we gain.
While hiking the Appalachian Trail for 7 months, I let go of many things. I had little news access, much less social media, few physical possessions, no running water or fresh food most days, and no boss directing my everyday activities. I slept in a tent, going to sleep when it got dark and rising with the sun. Along the way, I lost many other things, most without even realizing it. It was on a beautiful late summer day in Vermont, hiking through emerald green forest, when I felt it for the first time— pre-conceived notions, self-limiting beliefs, superfluous “needs”, superficial relationships, all things that were quietly slipping away. In their place, confidence, connection, and a deep peace, were flowing in. These things I “found”, were actually there all along. They just needed space.
Taking in a waterfall in New Hampshire. Everything I need is on my back, and I had “lost” so much already.
Letting go can be scary, though. It can feel vulnerable. And, it can be hard for us to see the things we need to let go of, even harder to actually let them go. These are all things we’ll be discussing in future newsletters. In the next newsletter, we’ll be exploring vulnerability of all types, how it builds community, how it facilitates letting go, and how it may be just the thing we need to start finding the things we want.
For now, I leave you with a question: what heavy things are you ready to lift from the backpack of your life, give gratitude for, set down, and walk away from?
Until next time,
Amy
P.S. I’ve been working on letting go of a need for certainty recently. Hit reply and let me know what you’re working on letting go of! I’d love to hear about it.
Curious what’s next? Here some of the articles I have planned:
Vulnerability
....and how it builds community
Risk taking
The two risks to consider– the risk of doing the thing, and the risk of not doing the thing
Falling in Love with the World
The Enchanted Everyday