a cheesy life metaphor part 2

One summer I worked and lived in a National Park. There were woods, mountains, animals, tourists, trails, waterfalls, and encounters with nature that left me like every other city person who encounters nature: full of life lessons and cheesy metaphors.

"That spider teaches me that I should buy new shoes more often!"
"That tree has opened my eyes to the fact that I need to change careers."

Here is one of mine.

The staff of my tiny campgroud cooked a big family meal every Sunday in the diner down the mountain. I decided one week to walk to our gathering down a seemingly short trail that paralleled the road the led directly to my destination. I dressed in my burkenstocks, long skirt, hippie blouse, and tied back my short purple hair (yes, it was as bad as it sounds). I thought I looked hot.

After 20 minutes on the beautiful trail, I began to wonder if I missed a turn. It didn't seem as if I was anywhere close to the diner. I couldn't see the road. There was no way that I was going to walk back UP the moutain, so I tentatively pressed on.

Within minutes, something large rustled in the bushes near me. There were ample friendly black bears in the area, so I froze. A buck walked onto my trail 15 feet in front of me. He was about my height, which is a pretty big damned deer. He looked at me and froze.

For about 1 1/2 minutes (which felt like 3 hours), we stared at each other. I knew that deer don't eat people. They are not usually dangerous. They are, however, very territorial. The buck nodded at me and then turned to face me. It began to snort and puff out its chest, as if it were going to attack.

In that moment, I had to make a decision. I could turn and walk away (uphill, my least favorite way to walk), squat and become small, or challenge the buck. Since I was late for dinner and possibly lost, I stood tall, stuck out my chest, and stomped my burkenstocks in his direction. He ran. I won!!! The trail was mine!! I'd like to think that it was because of my bravery. It could have been the purple hair.

Shaking, I stomped down the trail to scare off any other animals. The diner appeared beyond the trees 5 minutes later. Here are the lessons that I take from my encounter:

1) When I think that I am the shit, I may actually be a girl with purple hair and no sense of direction. Enjoy it anyway.
2) Even when I plan out my future, I may feel lost halfway through the process. I have to press on beyond my doubts to get anywhere.
3) The things that scare me in the moment usually seem harmless later. That doesn't make it any less scary, but knowing that "later" will come helps me to find a way out.
4) If you walk 2 miles down a mountain, make sure that you know someone who will give you a ride back up.