3 Lessons on Happiness

As a little girl, I dreamed about my adult life and what it would look like. I dreamed about the type of partner I would have. About the college, I would attend and all the friends I would have. Over the years, the details of those dreams changed and adapted as I learned more about the world. And as I got older the unifying theme became clear to me, I just wanted to be happy.

For years now, every shooting star, wishbone, and birthday cake candle wish I have made has been the same. I close my eyes and quietly wish to be happy. Even if there were things I really wanted, like clothes or a relationship or just money to pay my bills, I knew at the root of all of it, the thing I needed/ wanted most was to be happy. To cultivate happiness regardless of any external circumstances was and still is always my wish.

Now, what does that mean? The saying is, ask and you shall receive, and girl has I received. The universe has sent me many lessons about happiness and I want to share them with you, beautiful reader.

Happiness is Work

And that’s, on period. As adults, our lives are filled with activities that are required of us and not necessarily ones we want to do. This can leave us feeling bored, tired, exhausted and unhappy but I’m here to tell you some good news. Even in all of that, you can still choose to be happy. Yes, happiness is a choice. And you have to work on choosing it. I’m not saying that you can’t have other feelings. You definitely should allow yourself to experience the whole gambit of emotions available through the human experience. I’m just saying you don’t have to make those other emotions your home. Choose to work towards your happiness every day.

A close up of a desk, with laptop and book, plus a lit block with the words "You Got This" in big letters.

The Key to Happiness is…

To be grateful. There is always something to be grateful for, every single day. The fact that you woke up, your dog, the fact that you own your own toothbrush, etc. If Alice can think up 6 impossible things before breakfast, I’m confident you can look around and be grateful for 3-5 things, people and/or experiences in your life. And FYI the best time to practice being grateful is right after you wake up in the morning or right before you go to bed at night. Your mind is most quiet at these times and therefore more able to absorb and appreciate what you are grateful for. Try to think of something new every day and be as specific as you can!

A pink journal with the words, "Today I am Grateful" on it.

The Best Trick in the Book

Smile! Smiling is one of the quickest ways to start feeling happier. Look people in the eye and smile at them. Find a mirror and smile at yourself. It will feel silly af but that will just lead from smiling to laughing and that’s the best. I know this is grounded in science but at the risk of messing it up and someone trying to quote me, I’m just going to speak from personal experience. I have done this and will do it again. It has worked for me. It doesn’t always work to fully get me out of an icky mood but it never makes my mood worse. So, beautiful reader, bless the world and yourself with a smile!

Well, reader, I hope you have got something out of this. I know it was nice for me to spend a few days meditating on happiness. And if I see you irl, expect a warm smile.

What the Fuck are We Doing?

I honestly have no idea but it’s exciting. Hello, my name is Eden and I am starting an Ax Throwing Business with my boyfriend Adam. Yep, we’re Eden and Adam. Nope, I don’t know anything about ax throwing or owning a business and I say the word ax funny.

Eden and Adam smiling in front of Niagara Falls and a rainbow.
We be cheesing!

A little bit about us. Adam and I are adventure people. We are go with the flow people. We are free spirits. We want to work to live not live to work. Adam and I knew each other all of 6 months before we went off into the woods together to hike the Appalachian Trail in February of 2018. At the start of our relationship in August 2017, I told him that I would be leaving to hike the trail in 2018. He asked me if he could come in October. And I said, “Hell yeah!”

How was the trail? It was everything I wanted it to be and more. That sounds cliche af but it’s true. I wanted freedom and nature and life and community and the trail gave me all of that. We met some of the best people. The most genuine, beautiful, inspiring people I have ever met, hiked with us. My body, mind and soul connected in ways they hadn’t been allowed to before. Okay, I’m going to stop myself now because this is about how we got to the ax-throwing business and I will talk about the trail forever if I don’t stop now!

So many adventures!

Anywho, we got off trail August 2018 and got back to the rat race. Adam works in a union and was able to pick up work right away. I had just graduated from Kennesaw State University in December 2017 right before the trail and had to ease my way into the workforce. We eventually got an apartment and were just marching away in the thick of it. But we were both so unhappy and we both just knew our lives could be more than working 5 days a week for me and 6 days a week for Adam and just living for 1 or 2 days of relaxing on the weekend. 

So, like the true millennials that we are, we looked to the inter-webs for guidance. First, we stumbled across a real estate seminar. That led us to the Bigger Pockets Real Estate podcast. Which then led us to their business and money podcast. Where Adam listened to episode 21 where they talked with James Anderson, who started Forged Axe Throwing.

Now here we are the owners of Ironyard Axehouse.

Eden and Adam holding axes in front of their ax throwing trailer.
Our newest adventure!

Training!!!

Hellooooo my peoples!!!

I have officially started training for my 2018 AT thru-hike! I had planned on doing a test hike with all gear this weekend. I wanted to make sure everything worked properly and see how well I implemented the lessons I had learned from the classes I had thus far taken. However, due to climate change, we got a ton of snow down here in Georgia. I say a ton but it was a few inches. Anyway, my car is finicky enough, I was not about to take it up icy mountain roads.

Instead, I decided to just walk to the Chattahoochee State park that was close to Adam’s house. It was a 2-mile walk. I was shooting for a total of 8 miles, so I was going to walk another 2 miles on the trail. My round trip would then equal 8 miles! I ended getting 7.27 miles in. I took Adam’s doggo Jada with me and she slowed me down a bit and also we got to a part of the trail that was really rocky and couldn’t go any further. I loaded my pack up with everything except my food. I did pack my bear canister though so all the space was filled with how it would be on the AT. The packed weighed 24lbs with everything. Finally, Jada and I headed out around 3pm and we would get back around 6pm on Saturday, December 10th.

  • Smiling girl and her dog

The walk started out good. I had to readjust my straps once I started walking because the load was not quite right. There are a ton of straps on my pack so I just pulled them all to make the pack as stable as possible. I had it pretty good on my hips but the right shoulder strap was rubbing my tendons up by my neck a lot. This would hurt me later. Around mile 3, I started to feel my muscles a little more but I was able to distract myself. Because I had Jada, I really couldn’t use my trekking poles. Also, (not to do with Jada) it was very difficult to get to the pockets on my pack. If Adam had been there it would have been way easier because he could have helped with getting stuff for me. My boots were super awesome as far as keeping my feet dry and warm. However, the boots have pretty thin soles and on the way back I was feeling ever singe pebble I stepped on. My toenails hurt so bad once we finally got back.

All in all, I feel like it was a successful walk. I learned more about my pack. I realized what would be hurting and sore each day lol. If you all want, you can go look at a video from the hike on my YouTube channel, outsidethegarden! https://youtu.be/dTFNnN5abqI

I picked a Pack!!

(drum rooollllllll). Your girl picked the REI Women’s Flash 60.

I picked this pack because it was the most comfortable one I tried on with Jackie. It also didn’t tower over my head, I’m a shorty (5’3″ AND 1/4). When weighted it didn’t touch my head a whole lot, which Jackie told me, would have been annoying. Also, I liked that it had a zipper that gave access from underneath.

Jackie was there when I went back and gave me a few other pointers. When adjusting your shoulder straps, make sure they start at your shoulder blades. The hip strap should buckle at your belly button to get their best position. Lastly, your sternum strap should be two finger lengths below your clavicle.

I also highly recommend getting measured so you pick out the proper size pack. Both Adam and I got measured and we were both in between pack sizes. which was good to know. We knew to try on each size we were in between in each pack to find the best fit.

Thru-Hiking Here I Come!

My gear prep for my AT thur hike has finally started!!! I applied for the Mastercard with REI and it finally came in the mail today! I went by the REI store close to me after work today and spent some time talking to the associates there about backpacks.

All of the people who assisted me were amazing and knowledgeable! The two main associates who helped me stressed having a pack with a little bit more space. The first one, Ben (maybe), said that it was good to have the room for when I just didn’t want to pack it super nice or when I had to get bulkier food from in town.

Jackie, my second associate (Ben was getting off), focused on finding a pack that fit my shoulders good. I am pretty broad shouldered and a lot of the women’s packs were pretty narrow around the shoulders, which was making the straps lie on the tendons closer to my neck.

Jackie had me try on at least 3 or 4 different packs. Besides the shoulder thing the other problem I was trying to avoid was have the pack rub against my head too much. Three of the packs I tried on, we put some weighted pillows in so I could sort of see what it would feel like packed. This helped narrow down my choices to two packs. One was by REI and the other was by Ospery.

I decided I need to do a bit more research before I buy but I’m kind of feeling the REI one. I’ll keep you all updated on my progress. I promise this time!

Finally, A Post!

Sorry guys! I’m literally the worst! I’ve almost been in Ireland a whole week and I have yet to write anything, please don’t hate me… SO, we’ve been doing a ton since the wheels hit the ground. I’ll fill you in on the first few days in a recap post later. I’m just going to share about one of my adventures from yesterday in this one.

Yesterday was Tuesday, June 20. Tuesdays we go on field trips exploring Ireland. All 58 of us, pile into these huge coach buses. I have a group I tend to go adventuring with. But I want this to be as much of a growing experience as I can, so I try to not be super picky about who I end up sitting with on the bus or in the classroom. My seat mate this time around did not have the same approach. She put in headphones almost right away and ended up putting her foot on me for a lot of the ride #rude. Any who, I just re-positioned each time it happened and tried to get in a nap. Note to future travelers: Ireland has a lot of green and if you have allergies, bring meds! I have had a bit of a sinus cold the last few days. My bus nap literally gave me new life!

Once I got up, we were still on the bus, out the window was some of the most beautiful countryside I have ever seen. I’m from Georgia, I go hiking and see some of the most beautiful scenery, I’m telling you guys it has got nothing on the scenery in Ireland. It’s green for miles, with cute little cottages dotted here or there. I’ve always thought the phase ‘rolling hills’ was cute but never really saw anything that captured its essence. In Ireland, there are rolling hills and every type of imagery and titillation that stirs up in you hearing that phase, is everything they are. We then passed through a few little hilltop towns which were equally enrapturing. They moved with the geography, winding up the hill. I need to give a s/o to Tony, our bus driver, how he navigated those tiny little roads on an incline was impressive as hell! If it had been me, I would have swung the back half of that bus into half the town, for sure. The homes and shops were stacked close together but it had the effect of looking homey instead of cramped. I could see into the windows of the homes and almost all of them had flowers in the window sill. The buildings were all brightly painted stucco that complemented the topography exceptionally. The road and sidewalk were cobblestone, adding to its charm. I felt like if I got off the bus and knocked on someone’s door they would welcome me in, pour me some tea and chat with me like we had know each since kindergarten. It was the warmest place I have ever been to and we were just driving through it.

After Tony miraculously got the bus up the hill and through the tightest gate, we arrived at Woodstock House Gardens. I assure you, it was one of the most tranquil places I have ever been. Our group had a tour guide, the head gardener of the entire complex, John. Woodstock House was part of the Tighe family for generations but it was William Tighe and his wife Lady Louisa Lennox who established the gardens between 1840-1900. They hired plants hunters to go all around the world and bring back the most beautiful and exotic plants they could find. The gardens contain trees and plants from Asia, America, and other parts of Europe. The trees and plants are able to thrive in the gardens because Ireland has some of the riches soil in the world. Monkey puzzle trees from Chile grow in the gardens as well as redwood trees from California. John said that House hosted guest such as the Queen of England as well as other high status individuals. I felt privileged to be walking the same grounds as a Queen once did. The House was dilapidated and completely reclaimed by the vegetation but that added to its aura. I was swept up into its magic and filled with childlike awe of its beauty. I wanted so badly to take my shoes off and just run around in the gardens all day. I didn’t take off my shoes but we did run around in there for a while. Of course I took a ton of pictures.

Well, that’s all I can do tonight guys!

Welp, I Guess I’m Doing This

This is going to be a little adventure for me, so here we go. I am God awful at journal-ing but I’m going to give this a try. Don’t get me wrong, I am a self-reflective person. I just have trouble a) making consistent time for journal-ing and b) committing to things in general. But I feel writing is an important skill and I want to do it more.

I am both excited and scared to go on this journey. I hope you guys, will be there for me though. Part of starting this online, is to have better accountability and fun. I foresee a ton of random posts of me just droning on until I get the hang of this. This is going to start off just as a personal journal of sorts but I have hopes that it will grow into something great!

Happy to have you all along for the ride!