Do you miss the sound of your own laugh?

Can anyone tell me when I last laughed like this? If it is not frustrating it appears to be hilarious. The things that would have had me fuming before had me giggling today. Ask Mama C… or Brain… or Logan… they all heard me today. I don’t know if they realized it, but I heard my giggles and wondered where that was coming from.

It sounded foreign, alien, like I was drunk or something. The thing is, I don’t drink anymore. I am so in love with my life and my journey that everything is bubbling up in gushes of happy giggling. I don’t know who this person is that got extremely lost and just laughed through it. I don’t know who this person is who got misdirected by the GPS and somehow lands in the middle of a gorgeous park and can actually enjoy the view!

So there I am, lost, wondering if my friend has also moved in to the wilderness, and I see this view. At one point I would have gotten back in my car, Facebook-ed something annoying, and blown his phone up waiting for true directions. Instead I snapped some photos and imagined if this were Jurassic Park, what it would look like to see dinosaurs down there. In my mind I could see the brontosaurus dipping its long neck to drink from the water, the triceratops are running on the far grass and there is a rustle in the far trees as the T-Rex waits his turn to drink and eat some prey.

This feeling of peace and rightness with the world overcame me. It was like being wrapped up in a warm womb-like cocoon. Fuzzy cotton candy coated satisfaction with life, it tasted pretty sweet.

Often non-Iowans have complained about Iowa being boring and only cornfields… but I love to break it to you… THIS IS IOWA! Jester State Park in Polk County, Iowa. The cool thing is that prior to today, I would have agreed with those non-Iowans. Now I am experiencing Iowa in a whole new way. I am experiencing life.

So wanderers, today’s guidance to you is to find your bliss, you’ll know you are there when you can’t stop the giggles. It will seem like someone else is laughing from inside you, but this is you. It is just what it feels like to be doing what is right, for you. Ignore the negativity and worry that others share. Be cautious in your steps, but do not fear leaping when it just feels right. Find that wild person inside yourself that is intuitive and loves freely, set her/him free and follow them. And especially when before you would have acted in fear, frustration, or anger, do exactly the opposite. Stop, look around, imagine, take the time to value who you are, in the midsts of such a crazy savage world.

200 more miles to go in the next 30 hours. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow has in store for me.

Signing off from Jester Park, Granger, Polk County, IA.