Let It Be What It Becomes...A Lesson on Living that Trail Life

“Life is a dance between making it happen and letting it happen” - Arianna Huffington

My higher power has been giving me two main phrases over and over and over again.

1. I’m not in charge of the timing.
2. Let It Be What It Becomes

Both are about relinquishing a certain amount of control.  It wasn’t long before I realized that in order to let it be what it becomes, one has to have trust that something or someone has their back.  One has to trust that everything is going to work out for the best.

I had a real life exercise with this whole letting it be what it becomes when I attended Camp Mars in Malibu this past month.  I really didn’t realize what I was getting myself into and while some of it was painful for me, I ended up having the time of my life.  

To start things off, I had to let go of my plane leaving the gate late.  I knew I had a tight connection in Denver and did not want to miss my flight or have a repeat of Christmas three years ago which had me running the length of the Denver airport with luggage in tow to make my connection.  I also had to relinquish control over the fact that I have unstable blood sugar and really needed to get a meal before boarding my next plane.  I had to just trust that everything was going to work out and it did.  While I did make my connection, I was not afforded time to eat or even grab a snack.  I was able to get a couple of glasses of orange juice to stabilize myself until I landed in Burbank.  Once in Burbank, I made a bee line for the eateries and found one that matched my dietary restrictions.  I soon realized that I had completely forgotten about my luggage and promptly walked over to find no luggage spinning on the tracks.  I immediately looked around trying not to freak out and as I did so my eyes landed on what looked like my suitcase behind a set of closed doors.  I went over and discovered that my luggage had been brought inside the Southwest office for safe keeping!  YAY!  

I got an Uber and he was the nicest driver who actually lives down the street from where I used to work in LA!  We talked about all kinds of places and the growth going on in that part of the city.  Fast Forward to landing at Camp Mars.  I had been so worried about how I would get along with others.  Would it be high school all over again where I didn’t fit in?  Would I have people to hang out with?  Would I have someone to eat meals with?  I just didn’t know what to expect and my anxiety was at an all time high.  Again, I kept hearing “ let it be what it becomes”.  And so I did my best to do so.  I immediately met another newbie who was staying in my same building.  We hung out together the first night.  That night I met my two roommates for the weekend.  Both were well seasoned in all things Camp Mars because they had attended all of them.  Both ladies were really sweet, around my age and we had tons in common.  I immediately felt at home.  It sounds crazy, but I was also worried about getting showers at night and being able to get a decent amount of sleep due to any sort of stress triggering a yet to be named digestive disorder.  Everything worked out fine for the entire weekend, sleep and showers included!

Day two is where the rubber met the road in terms of letting it be what it becomes… I guess because last year’s camp had so many activities, I was a little disappointed to learn that a lot of those activities had not returned this year.  I wasn’t sure how I would fill my time between meals.  I would soon learn that a lot of that time would be taken up waiting in lines to do the few activities we did have and to get first dibs on the concert lawn for shows.  I really didn’t like all of the waiting, but it was something my roommate said that helped me to look at it in a different way.  She said this year is more low key and she kind of liked it in a way because it gave everyone time to get to know each other.  I thought about this and by day 3 I was looking forward to the next line I would be sitting in (yes we got smart) and found that I really enjoyed starting up new conversations with whoever happened to be in line around me at the time.  Sometimes it was familiar faces and sometimes it was brand new faces with new stories and new perspectives.  By the end of the trip, I was happy that we didn’t have all of the activities that normally take place.  I feel that if we had - I wouldn’t have gotten to know as many people.  

The hard part was letting if be what it became throughout each day.  I wanted to take control so bad and know what was happening next and this particular camp was done more on a “be here at this time for something with Jared” level.  I am a Taurus.  I like detailed itineraries and I like to know in advance what I need to do, have and be for whatever is happening.  I had to fight that part of myself a lot at camp.  And I even had to fight that part of myself on the rest of my trip.  Plans kind of kept shifting with friends I had planned to see and I had to stay flexible and let the trip be whatever it became.  And what it became was absolutely amazing.  I said goodbye to all of my new friends at Camp Mars and ended up having a late lunch by the ocean in Malibu with an old friend.  After lunch we went hiking on the coast.  We have never been ones to stay on the trail and so we found ourselves carefully trudging down a sandy sea cliff to enjoy the views of the vast Pacific Ocean.  We even got to see some dolphins and seals.  I thought I was going to have to Uber all the way back to Burbank for dinner, but my friend ended up taking me since she was heading in that direction anyway.  Later that night, I saw another old friend from LA and had an amazing dinner while catching up on life.

I was told before I left on my trip that I would get what I came for.  One day in I thought that was absurd, because I had come for a hug and a drum circle with may favorite drummer - neither of which happened due to personal illness.  It was when I was leaving that realized I had gotten what I came for - I learned first hand how to become the person I am on the trails.  I’ve been chewing on this notion for over a year now - I hadn’t been able to grasp how to take who I am on the trails and translate it to everyday life.  I now have a real life example to lead and guide me along my journey.  I did indeed get what I came for - I learned how to lessen the death grip I have on life and ease the anxiety of most of my moments - I learned how to let it be what it becomes.  And I am using this lesson right now to guide me through a season of change in terms of my career and possibly place of residence.  Just like at camp, I want all of the answers right now, but as I have learned I just have to do my part and let it be what it becomes.