Mending Miles: Showing Up for Life Intentionally

Written by - Lu Johnson, Founder & Curator at Mending Miles Co.

There’s a version of me that used to chase peace like it was hiding somewhere far away. I thought; clearly peace only exists  tucked between airport terminals, behind passport stamps, or over dinners in places where no one knew my story. I called it travel, but truthfully, it was a quiet attempt at escaping the questions and the stares I did not dare answer or challenge.

Then one day, somewhere between another flight to “far enough” and a conversation with God, it was revealed to me that peace had never been hiding from me, nor skipping state lines for me to chase after it. I just hadn’t been present long enough to notice it, I had not sat still enough to hear God’s answers.

So I started Mending Miles, committing my time away to reconciling with the parts of me that craved distance and hiding. Instead of running, I wanted to take my pains and grievances with me, to quietly and carefully tend to them before returning to build anew..

Who knew that showing up for life was not grand or dramatic,

just deeply awake.

Every destination becomes a reflection of who you are becoming when you pack intention in your hand luggage.

Choosing Life in Real Time

After loss, joy can feel like a visitor that may not stay long. For years, that is the belief that drove me. I was careful not to laugh too loud, dream too big, or ask for too much. I was afraid joy would leave. Then I started finding myself alone on travels, yet somehow surrounded, by joy, by love, by life happening in the most surprising ways. Joy I never had to beg for found me. I did not have to whisper so it would not flee.

Each time I stepped away from home, from life as I knew it, I wanted each experience to carry that truth. Laughter, stillness, learning; all of it matters. It was there to teach me what I required in order to nurture it, what needed eliminating in order for me to make permanent space for it. Renewal stopped disappearing when the plane landed. I was no longer coming back to problems I left behind. I was intentionally returning to them, but doing so differently. Without question, instead with action.

The work I did while I was gone; the conversations that stretched my vision, the prayers whispered into the sea, the vibrations of the chanting that met us at dawn: these moments became the groundwork for how I lived once I returned home. Refusing to compromise a peace that I used to shove to the back next to that one Key West bedazzled souvenir shirt that a relative somehow thought would suit you well.

Key Practices to Soft Arrivals

I was convinced that showing up for life meant big waves, big splash. Now I know that it starts with small, faithful choices. “I will no longer say yes to last minute plans that require me to rush an hour process into ten minutes”.  Saying yes to yourself in quiet ways. Slowing down long enough to savor the moments that matter to you without worrying who has rushed past it. Looking someone in the eyes and letting them see you without a mask, and equally appreciating their choice to leave or stay.

Whether your path leads you across the ocean or just around the corner, presence is your passport. It’s how you remind yourself that you belong where you are.

The Invitation

Mending Miles isn’t about getting away from life. It’s about showing up for it, gently and with intention. Mending the miles of your becoming, one soft, gentle, intentional step at a time.

If you’ve also felt like life has been running ahead of you, let this be your moment to pause. To breathe. To let yourself be caught open and grateful for what is still here - for what is yet to come.

Because life has always been waiting on your “yes”.

Won’t you try saying it without running this time?