Recently I embarked on a journey that awakened a thousand parts of myself I didn’t know existed. It was spontaneous and revealing, life changing, purifying and spiritual. It’s something I’ll never forget.

I returned to Nashville on Monday with mud on my legs, matted hair, swollen feet and I owned one less pair of flip-flops than I started with. I wore the same stained orange tank top I had worn while hiking up the Appalachian Trail the day before, and without makeup, every flaw on my face was exposed to the sunlight. But I felt beautiful. I felt more beautiful than ever because I had just witnessed, for four consecutive days, a true definition of beauty. I witnessed a community of people who doesn’t judge beauty based on how you dress or what color your hair is…a community that sees beauty as a form of energy pouring out of everyone, whether they’re rich or poor, skinny or fat, black or white… The list goes on.

It takes a population of like-minded people with good vibes and better energy to prove to you all that you are and all the positivity you’re free to embrace. I experienced that in its entirety in North Carolina.

Several times throughout the weekend, I found myself sitting in silence to write down the thoughts that were flooding my mind. I was engulfed in ideas and realizations, and by being so removed from the toxins of society, the words were flowing through me like a river.

As a writer, I live for the times when I wake up in the morning and feel inspiration in my chest or in my mind, an almost tangible feeling that can only sort of be described as words filling my body, asking to be set free. Admittedly and unfortunately, before my trip, I wasn’t feeling that way. I was feeling mundane and void of inspiration and motivation. It was immediately easier for me to allow myself to become sucked into the monotony of every day life – wake up. eat. work. eat. sleep. repeat.

My excuse was time. “I don’t have time to write.” But my enemy is not time. My enemy is my environment. My enemy is my mindset. That’s not to say my environment is some evil force that’s draining me of motivation and life. Rather, I’ve allowed my environment to become my enemy because I’ve let everyday temptations and distractions keep me away from what I’m passionate about – writing. loving. doing. changing.

I’ve found myself trying to tell my story about this past weekend. Each time something changes – what I decide to share, how well I elaborate, my excitement when I tell it. I’m not discouraged to keep telling my story in person, but I’m much more fit to communicate it through writing. And so I’ve compiled a list of 45 bullet points. Behind the bullet points are words that represent everything I learned and discovered during my adventure into a land I fell in love with – things I’m certain I can write a passionate piece about. I’m anxious to share my experience, and for the next 45 days I’m making it my priority to do that.

What I’ve repeated over and over since I’ve gotten back is that enlightenment doesn’t come from one-on-one conversations in your living room. It doesn’t come from someone promising you you’ll feel a certain way if you do a certain thing or change a certain thing. Enlightenment comes from experience; it comes from being ready and willing in the right place at the right time with a mind that’s open to anything. I experienced enlightenment in the purest form last weekend. It wasn’t something I could’ve prepared myself for, but perhaps being ill prepared was what led me there with an open-mind and outstretched arms. I’m not sure what it was. But I am thankful.

JMS