Her Stories Untold - Heidi Across America

There was a moment in my interview with Traei Tsai of Her Stories Untold when I felt delicate like an orchid. I am grateful for the opportunity to speak with Traei and have Heidi Across America be one of the stories in Traei's curation about women's resiliency in the face of challenges.

Mental health and mood difficulties feel worse for having no apparent symptoms. Those of us with them carry them around like a lead suitcase. Some days the weight is easier to bear and carry, and other days it's debilitating.

I don't know how many people who carry such a burden feel energetically free enough to do what I did and say f*@< it to the weight and fling themselves at the arduous task of pedaling across the U.S. What I do know is I still had that lead suitcase with me, and at the point I was faced again with looking death squarely in the eye, I chose life, and it felt like failure.

That choice changed my life. It saved me. And maybe it sounds weird to say, but the slow travel that took me to the precipice of my own life is also what has helped me effect the change I've needed at other times since then.

And maybe the lead suitcase I carry has been feeling heavier than it has for a while, but I know I have slow travel. Today I went for a run on the path near my house in the gentle rain and cold, and it felt like nourishment.

This post is for anyone out there who needs and wants it, but I'm writing it for me...to remind myself where I've been, how I've changed, and how slow travel isn't just a trendy topic but the real way I care for myself and how I can see the beauty in my bloom.