Veronica Shukla

Random Musings

  • Hiking Trails In and Around Sioux Falls, SD

    Hiking Trails In and Around Sioux Falls, SD

    As part of our yearly hiking training schedule, I often refer to a spreadsheet to make sure the parks I’m considering for that day’s hike have enough miles of trails. I thought it would be nice to share this information on the internet, especially for the newcomers to the area. I know there isn’t much…

  • My Most Exciting Hiking Story Yet

     Saturday, April 30, 2022, my friend Rose and I ventured out to Golden Gate Canyon State Park for a hike. It was late when we got there. I would have liked to go in the morning. I was waiting for everyone else, but by like 1:00 PM, I realized that most of them didn’t even…

  • You Seem Smart, Why Don’t You Work?

    I saw a lovely neurologist today. He was young, and smart, and kind, and we discussed what may be keeping me awake at night. The thing that keeps racing around my head after the visit, though, was how perplexed he was that I seem intelligent but don’t work. “You’ve never worked in the medical field?…

  • Why You Shouldn’t Start a Charity and What you Should Do Instead

    Why You Shouldn’t Start a Charity and What you Should Do Instead

    Nonprofits are inherently inefficient. No matter what, a traditional charitable organization that depends on donations to survive will take double the work, if not more, to accomplish its mission. It’s in the bones of the concept. There are better ways to do it. So You Want to Start a Nonprofit Do you want to start…

  • Spontaneity and Joy – Don’t Wait for the Stars to Align, Just Go For It

    Spontaneity and Joy – Don’t Wait for the Stars to Align, Just Go For It

    Today I had to travel a couple hours away for a food forest consultation. On the way there I drove by a state park I haven’t visited before. It looked like it might be pretty nice. Luckily, the meeting ended early enough that I was able to stop by the park on the way home….

  • Let Go of the Grudge: How to Forgive and Why

    Let Go of the Grudge: How to Forgive and Why

    You’re walking barefoot in the forest, soaking up the energy from the earth (no really, you should totally do that) when suddenly you feel a sharp pain in the sole of your foot. You find a moss-covered boulder to sit on and examine your foot where you find a brand new splinter. It hurts like…