Living Life to the Fullest: Cindy Kippley's Hiking Adventure to Everest Base Camp

“Jobs fill your pockets, but adventures fill your soul.” – Jaime Lyn

Guest Introduction:  

Welcome back, lovely friends! You're listening to Exploring the Seasons of Life, a podcast for women with a big heart on a spiritual journey. I'm your host, Cindy MacMillan, and I'm delighted to have you here today.

Exploring the Seasons of Life is a metaphor for understanding the complexities of being alive. It's a gentle reminder that our journey is filled with ups and downs, joys and sorrows, and moments of both growth and stagnation. It's within these seasons that we learn, we evolve, and we become the best versions of ourselves.

Each week, I have the privilege of connecting with incredible women who are dedicated to exploring the many facets of life. Our conversations are centered around self-love, well-being, and mindset, as we seek to understand how these elements shape our experiences and perspectives.

It's an absolute joy to have Cindy Kippley join us on the podcast today.

Cindy Kippley is not your average individual. She's a Business Professional, dog mom, yogi, marathon runner, outdoor enthusiast, mountain trekker, biker, weekend warrior, explorer, and world traveler. She embraces the world as her playground. From boardrooms to mountain peaks, she immerses herself in diverse cultures, forging connections, and leaving her mark on every path she treads. Her adventurous spirit knows no bounds, making her a true citizen of the world.

Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

Welcome to the show Cindy.

4:03 My first thought was, I did it. And then I also said, you know what, I am a badass. I don't like to swear. But I'm a badass. I can be a successful businesswoman during the day, during the week, but on my weekends and on vacation, I'm adventurous and I like to kind of push my body and my mind past that comfort zone to accomplish a goal or mission and that's what I felt.

5:12 I mean, overall, I just think age is only a number. I don't feel 56, well, maybe after doing that hike, I probably felt 86. At the end of that hike, I was very exhausted.

7:17 My trip started when I fainted on the airplane. Now, you may think it's funny, but it does happen occasionally. And so that started out my trip on my 14-hour flight. But I got through it. I was a little weak the first two days of my trip, but I recovered. I just had to hydrate a lot and kind of eat carefully.

9:05 So in our tea house, which is a hotel, the only place there's heat is in the dining room, and they only heat up the stove in the evening time for dinner. So that's where you would go to get warm, read a book, eat your dinner, etc. Well, instead of putting sticks or something out, they were putting yak dung in the stove, and that's what was burned to keep the dining hall warm. It was an amazing use of resources.

11:04 So for a week, I ate alot of like soup for dinner, like onion soup, garlic soup, potato soup. And then for like breakfast, I'd have a boiled egg, or maybe fried potatoes with the fried egg on it. So, it was kind of basic, very basic meals, nothing fancy.

13:00 Well, number one, for women that are working, we're very busy and it's very hard to coordinate schedules with a friend. It's also not always easy to find someone with the same interests as you to go to the same places. And at the same time that you're available.

18:36 Well, as a leader, you have to have perseverance, courage, and confidence. And the perseverance I used like, you know, maybe after so many days, you're getting burned out, or maybe you don't feel well and you're just like, oh, I can just turn around now and go back. I don't need to go to the top like, I'm good here. But it's like, no, you kind of have to check yourself and go, no, you signed up for this trip, you have a goal to reach and you're going to do it.

23:38 For me, I think it means living in the present. Not dwelling in the past, you know, I have done some self-discovery on that topic, and having gratitude for the gifts that God has given me, accepting what I have, embracing my age, making the most of what physical abilities I have right now. And how can I go explore if I have vacation time? How can I explore and use those physical abilities? I don't want to put off doing an activity and say, oh, I'll do that, when I retire. Well, maybe I won't have the physical capacity when I retire. So, I'm trying to take advantage of that.

25:18 I'm going to say, I know you thought that you'd be married at age 26 with 2.5 kids and a dog, but that's not how life worked out for you. But it's okay. You're going to be divorced and childless. But you're going to have eight awesome nieces and nephews, and two dogs, that you're a dog mom to and you're going to be climbing mountains in your 50s, you're going to be happy with your life and living your best life.

26:25 Actually, just two days ago, I signed up to hike the Camino de Santiago which is in Spain and that'll be spring of next year.

It's time to wrap up this episode of Exploring the Seasons of Life podcast. I hope you've found inspiration and guidance in our conversation. Remember to visit CynthiaMacMillan.com for all the links and resources mentioned today. Until we meet again next time, I encourage you to keep embracing the ever-changing seasons of your life. Learn from the past, embrace the present, and look forward to the future. And always remember to prioritize self-care and self-love. You are truly worthy of all the wonderful things that life has to offer.

You can find Cindy Kippley at:

LinkedIn

IF YOU LOVED THIS EPISODE WITH CINDY KIPPLEY YOU’LL ALSO LOVE THE CONVERSATIONS I HAD WITH:

Rock Climbing is a Metaphor for Life with Anyssa Lucena

Helping Women Heal from Their Divorce with Karin Nelson

Tess Zigo on Financial Self-Care

Niki Svara on Self-Forgiveness