Leslie Gold here from Strides in Recovery to talk about running, recovery and inspiration. Today, specifically, we’re talking about what wildfires can teach us about recovery.
A bicycle ride through a burn area inspired this analogy.
One way I keep my spirits up during this period of physical distancing is getting outdoors daily and exercising. Last weekend, I took a long bicycle ride in the Santa Monica Mountains, an area that had been engulfed in flames during Southern California’s wildfires last year. The entire area was blackened. There was so little vegetation remaining and the land was so dry that the winds lifted dirt into the air. Skies were brown. It was difficult to breathe.
But a year later, as you can see, the scenery was completely different. Skies were clear and blue. The blackened dead trees were still there, but new life had sprung up all around them. Observing the beauty of spring flowers and bright greenery among burnt trees made me think of recovery. The dark parts of your past life, intertwined with your new self, add to the beauty of who you are inside and out.
