MUD AND SHINE

By -

 

MUD AND SHINE



A muddy forest path surrounded by tall trees, symbolizing the inner journey through shadow and discomfort toward clarity and light.





Trek 2 — Dive Into the Mud


  I promised I would reveal the first three trails of my journey. In the previous post, I wrote about Morning Feather.


  If you haven’t read it yet — the link is

 

  But working on yourself hidden in the safety of your room is not the heart of the journey.


It may feel comfortable… but it doesn’t bring real results.




Close-up of a hand applying a scrub to the shoulder — a metaphor for surface-level self-care that avoids deeper inner work.


Trek 2 — Dive Into the Mud


If you’re not ready to get dirty, eat with muddy hands, or wash yourself in a cold mountain stream — you might not be ready for the trail at all. Of course, not every hike is like that. Sometimes you return home with less than half a kilo of mud on you. 😊

There are legends in the mountains — people who walk through the same wild paths as we, ordinary mortals, and return spotless, as if they’ve been strolling down a polished city boulevard.
They do exist.
But… they are rare.

A regular hiker usually manages to fall, scrape the trail, and get up again.

One year, while climbing Sitna Stena on Mount Rtanj, I slipped uphill — straight onto my face — and slid on my stomach through that soft, perfect, fragrant Rtanj mud for a good meter and a half.
Then I picked up the crumbs of my broken pride, stood up, and kept walking.
All the way to the peak.


And where is the inner work in all that?


A joyful child splashing through a patch of mud, symbolizing the courage to fall, get dirty, and keep moving forward.



The mud on the outside can be washed off. The mud within — must be understood.


Why am I telling you this?

Because the mud in our soul looks astonishingly similar to the mud on the mountain.
That’s why I smile every time someone talks to me about “eternal happiness and positive thinking.”
That’s like hiking down a paved shopping street.
Or down Manhattan.


The true path back to yourself doesn’t look like a walk on smooth asphalt.
It looks more like trudging through a muddy trail — the kind you simply must pass through, because beyond it, light is waiting.



A child smiling while playing with wet mud, symbolizing the innocence and courage needed to face life’s messiness openly.


What is the mud inside us?

It’s all those quiet, pressed-down parts we hide under the rug just to “function”:

the shame that follows like a shadow

the sentences we never spoke aloud

the insults we swallowed

the desires we abandoned

the fears we pretend we don’t have

the expectations of others we’ve learned to call our own


This is the part that sticks to the soul the way mountain mud clings to boots.



Why do we fear stepping into that mud?


Because we were taught to be “strong and silent.”
Because we think emotions will swallow us if we look at them.
Because pretending everything is fine is easier.
Because no one ever taught us that it’s safe to be honest with ourselves.

But the truth is simple:

The mud won’t swallow you. It just shows you where you’re stuck.


Feet covered in thick mud, symbolizing the moment of facing your inner heaviness before stepping into clarity.


Technique: Look at Your Muddy Boots

If you have completed Trek 1 and written your thoughts — now it’s time to go a little deeper.

Choose one “muddy” emotion that keeps returning:

  • jealousy

  • anger

  • feeling unworthy

  • shame

  • quiet sadness

  • fear that you are not enough

And then do this:

  1. Recall the last moment when this emotion hit you.

  2. Write honestly: “What exactly hurt me there?”

  3. Ask yourself: “Is this mine? Or does it belong to an older version of me?”

  4. Allow yourself to admit: “Yes, this is my mud-moment.”

  5. Breathe. This is the beginning of release.

There is no cleansing until you look at what’s truly there.



Muddy emotions as signposts

These heavy emotions are not punishment — they are a map:

Jealousy brings you back to a forgotten desire.

Anger shows where your boundaries were crossed.

Shame reveals where you’re living by someone else’s idea of you.

Sadness arrives to tell you something has reached its end.

Fear protects the part of you that was once hurt.

None of this means you are weak.

It means you are alive.


Only the one who has been covered in mud can stand on the peak and breathe fully.


A woman standing by the ocean with arms wide open at sunrise, symbolizing freedom, release, and stepping into inner light.


The path toward the light

Step into your second trek with courage.
Lower your gaze to the mud beneath your feet and say:

“I see you.”

The shadow doesn’t call you to stay in the dark.
It calls you to move.





A gentle echo for the end — a song that opens the door to your own truth. The Truth, Megan Woods.



You can find my book Whispers of Veloria and more about my work on Amazon



Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for your comment! Your message will appear once it has been reviewed.

Popular posts from this blog

Camino de Santiago - My Camino...

By -
Image
  Camino de Santiago My Camino…     For me, life itself is a journey. We walk—or if you prefer, we live—and along the way, we meet people. Some simply pass by, greet us, and continue on their own path. Some come and go, only to return again. And only a few remain, walking beside us on this shared road.       As I walked along one part of my path, I met someone who told me about the Camino de Santiago. And nothing beyond that—nothing more—matters when it comes to this person. Because to dwell on them, on who they were, or why, would mean stepping away from my own path.     And so, the Camino de Santiago stepped onto my road. Into my life.      Thoughts, research, attempts at planning the journey… they followed both me and him. Until one day, I let it all go and simply continued to walk, to live—without the burden of whether I would ever go to him or not.     And then he came. One night. Into my dream.  ...
Read more

Camino de Santiago - On Roles and Companions

By -
Image
  Camino de Santiago               On Roles and Companions ( My Camino...) Oh, my joy. I am going to walk the Camino !!! My heart was racing wildly. I wasn’t thinking about the costs, the effort, or the gear… only about the fact that in my dream, St. James himself had called me to join him.      I am not of the Catholic faith. I am an Orthodox Christian, baptized in the Church of the Holy Trinity in my hometown. I grew up in a family, in a time, when religion was not exactly looked upon kindly, and where I was taught that the church was nothing more than the opium of the people. My late mother kept, hidden behind a curtain, an icon of St. Luke, the protector of our home, and on the day of our family’s patron saint she would always prepare a slightly better meal. Quietly. Just the way faith asks of you. The patron saint celebration, or  krsna slava , is a unique Serbian religious and cultural tradition and one of the most ...
Read more

Camino de Santiago ( My Camino...) - Route Map...

By -
Image
          Camino de Santiago Route Map… (My Camino…)    Today I spent hours trying to remember and piece together all the places I passed on my Camino journey. Hours and hours… When I finally finished, and retraced the entire incredible route in my mind, I wished I were there again. Yes. Now I know. I will return someday.   I loved the scent of the ocean and the steps along the wooden planks by the shore. There was something strangely appealing about walking from town to town. I just wished I had more time to explore a bit more along the way.   So I decided to share the map with you. I wish I could share the scent of the ocean too, but that, you’ll have to experience yourself. For now, I’m sharing my impressions here, and sharing the seashells I collected from the beach with friends:  Praia Da Langosteira Map     We set off from Porto.     We flew in from Belgrade and stayed at  The Central House Porto Ribeir...
Read more