I didn’t have to second-guess myself on this one. There was no doubt, no hesitation. Not after he literally took my breath away, abruptly halting my steady, rhythmic jog and leaving me motionless, staring intently across the wide open meadow that the trail meanders across before entering back into the woods. Like mine had seconds before, his steady jog paused, and his gaze met mine. For what seemed like hours, we entered into a staring contest, just like the one’s I used to have as a young child. But this one was not just for fun to see who could hold the stare the longest without blinking. It went much deeper. He was trying to tell me something. He was trying to take my hand and lead me through a rite of passage.

            I had run on those trails countless times and I had yet to see him before this morning. But on this particular morning, that meadow became much more meaningful to me. When his eyes met mine, an overwhelming sense of belonging resonated through my entire body. I was not scared. I was not curious. I was not in doubt. I was immediately connected to the earth beneath my feet. Adrenaline met comfort giving me an overwhelming sense of vibrant energy that I had never felt before, leaving me unable to move. For those few moments, my muscles unable to connect with my brain, I saw the land around me much more clearly than I had ever seen it. It was July, but the leftover snow patches looked fresher than ever, illuminated by the early morning western sunshine. The golden meadow glowed – a sea of possibility, calm and ready to be sailed.

            The moment our gaze broke, I was grounded, feeling more connected to this place than I had ever felt. The uncertainty that I had set out on that early morning run to sort through, had vanished. It was at that moment that I knew. This was the right place for me to start the next chapter.