When I hike a trail like the Continental Divide Trail I find it useful to gather information from people I meet along the way. They can tell me if there are a lot of blowdowns or what the river crossing will be like. Sometimes I take what they say with a grain of salt, knowing that when a downhill hiker tells me I am almost at the top I could still have three miles of climbing to do. It often feels shorter coming down. But by asking a few questions and sizing them up, I have learned which hikers to trust. And trusting them helps me make good decisions, such as what detour to take or where to stay the night.

I am learning that same trust in my life. I have some good friends who tell me honestly what they think about my writing. They don’t sugar coat it and tell me something reads well when it does not. I have other friends who help me in other areas of my life, even when I feel embarrassed for needing help. Trusting them frees me up from self doubt.

Just as a long-distance hike often involves many support people along the way, such as trail angels who offer food and water or rides into town, much of our life at times can be enhanced by outside support. Learning to accept and lean into that help has been a great lesson for me to learn.

Our support people are the proverbial trail angels of life.