In keeping with my vow I posted about yesterday, to be more the person I want to be than the person I usually am, this morning I set off again for another hike, this time around Thetis Lake, near Victoria (see photo below)
It was such a radically different experience in my head than yesterday. When I got to a short but steep downward stretch of the path, the little fun buster in my head reminded me I would have to go back up if I went down, but it didn’t work, even for a second. “So what?” I said, and plunged down the path. When I got to an equally steep upward stretch, all I thought was “I can do this!”
Amazing how much experience matters. In this case I have both one day of experience (yesterday) and seventy years of it to go on, and both of them tell me I’ve got this—whatever “this” is.
I noticed the turnoff for Elk Lake on my way this morning and thought maybe I would stop there on the way back. The me I usually am nixed the idea, saying one lake was enough and there was always another day. The me I want to be chimed in as I was driving back, asking why I was in such a rush to get back. “What are you going to do, go back to your room and sit on your bed?”
I want the new, improved me to win these showdowns, so I went to Elk Lake. Turns out it is the home of the Canadian rowing team and a popular getaway for people in the area. There was a trail around that lake as well, but the legs were in open revolt at the idea of a second hike, so that will have to wait. Only so much self-reinvention can fit in one day!
Besides, it was time for lunch. I went to one of the most popular restaurants on the waterfront in Sidney, and sat outside surrounded by potted flowers and dappled sun. I ordered vegan tacos (yams, avocado, corn, and lots of other little goodies) and when a plate of three enormous tacos arrived, the server said, “you know, if you can’t eat all that, we can wrap it to go.”
“I think I’ll need that,” said diet-conscious me. As I dug in, some other creature who is also me said “Wow! These are delicious!” and I polished off all three. I don’t know who that new voice is, but the me I want to be has little room to spare in these shorts, so I’d better talk back pretty forcefully at least most of the time. But as lunch dates go, that voice was just the one I needed today.
