Do you have an area of life that you love, but something always gets in the way of fully enjoying it?
Fall is my favorite season because of the colorful leaves, cooler weather, and Thanksgiving.
But it is also the season of my archenemy! Despite this thorn in my side, I'm determined to enjoy the season and choose joy.
And you can make that choice too! Please share in the comments an area where you're choosing joy despite adversity.
Fall is absolutely my favorite season. As I see the trees begin to turn vivid colors, I feel alive. Especially the vibrant orange leaves, they just energize me.
As the weather turns cooler, I love being outside and hiking even more than usual. I love taking in the scents of the forest floor in the fall time. On this trip, I'm able to experience both the sights and the smells.
I'm traveling so slow on some of these hills here in the Ozarks (any are in the 13-15% range) so even with my pedal assist, I'm only going about 5 mph. That allows me to take in the sounds, too. I hear the thuds of walnuts hitting the forest floor as they are being fruitful for the year ahead.
I see the squirrels, and hear the squirrels, scampering around gathering their nuts and getting ready for winter time.
Other things I love about the fall. I enjoy gardening, so it is a time of harvest and being able to reap the rewards and the fruits of a year's worth of work.
In the United States, I also love our Thanksgiving holiday, which allows us to practice gratitude.
So there are many, many things I love about this season.
Unfortunately, it is also the season that is the territory of my archnemesis and that is (drum roll...) ragweed. It’s like my kryptonite. The effects on me are awful. My eyes can swell shut. I sneeze all night, so it's difficult to get a good night of sleep. I feel like my energy is drained. All of my body is working to fight these foreign invaders. And wow, it can really put a damper on things.
But I am determined that I am not going to let this weakness to ragweed steal my joy. I incorporate habits such as taking Allegra on a daily basis, trying not to touch my face, washing my face often, trying to rinse out my hair and not have pollen on my face when I go to sleep. So there are some things I can do to mitigate it.
But I think the presence of this archenemy sometimes even makes me feel alive in the fall. I feel like I can overcome it. And nothing is going to get in my way (including this ragweed!) of enjoying the fall season.
So how about you? You know, joy is a choice. It doesn't matter what's in our environment, or how vulnerable or weak we are to the kryptonite in our environment, we have a choice about our joy. I am not about to let ragweed ruin the fall season for me.
I’d love to hear what your archnemesis is and how you're overcoming it and choosing joy. Please join the conversation and add a comment below.
During my stop at the Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park, I learned about the geological features fens and shut-ins. I practiced reinforcement learning 
by adding an ice cream cone. Seeing the shut-ins made me imagine this phenomenon is happening at scale in the Ozark Mountains, with the powerful force of water cutting deep ravines into the terrain.
