"That's a cairn," I said aloud to the tour guide, who pointed out a riverbed full of them on our way to the waterfalls in the El Yunque Rainforest of Puerto Rico.
"A what?" he replied with a tinge of confusion in his voice, probably because it sounded like I pronounced the word like "Karen." 😂
"A cairn. They are used to mark your path when you are above the tree line." I learned how to make them at Girl Scout camp where I grew up in Colorado.
For him, it was like a game of Jenga, and before we knew it, we were in the middle of the riverbed creating them side by side.
I, however, found it meditative as I stacked one rock on top of another, patiently moving and rearranging them to make sure they were balanced. I searched for the next rock to complement the curvature and uniqueness of the last.
Building cairns made me think about our personal milestones and how we choose to reach them. Are we consciously choosing the next milestone to complement the last, or are we less thoughtful, depending on time and space to carry us there on a whim?
Is speaking in public a conscious milestone for you? If so, what tools are you putting in place to guarantee success?
If you feel comfortable doing so, please share them with me by simply replying to this newsletter. This could be the opportunity you need to start moving closer to your next milestone. ✨