It's been a while since my last post. Mainly, the last couple of weeks have been pretty boring. The inspiration for my first posts hit me like bolts of lightening. In the last few weeks, not so much.
Unlike before, this little bit of insight came to me during a conversation with my co-worker who I'll call "G", or maybe "G-Lady." Ooh, I've got it! I'll call her "G-Mama"! It rolls off the tongue a little better. Okay, so where was I...? Oh yeah, G-Mama and I were discussing my misadventures of joining new hiking groups and during one of those discussions, she helped me learn a new little nugget about myself. And just FYI, this little nugget of is small so don't expect some grand revelation at the end of this...I'm just not that deep.
A few weekends ago I hooked up with a new hiking group whose members could only be described as hard core extreme hikers. Within the first 50 feet of the hike, I realized that these people were practically running the trail at a pace that I couldn’t keep. They could only be described as extreme hikers, and I ate their dust as they left me way behind.
Basically, that wasn't my style of hiking. And that's where G-Mama and I began talking about why I hike. I told her that I didn't like hiking at supersonic speeds not because I wanted to enjoy the flora and fauna, but just because I like my own pace. Who cares about the flora and fauna? I don’t. She asked me if it was about the views. Nah, I could give a crap about the views. She then asked if it was about being outside in the fresh air and surrounded by nature. Nope, that's not it either. Nor did G-Mama have to ask me if it had to do with the whole communing with nature mumbo jumbo, because anyone who knows me knows that that's definitely not it.
But why do I hike? G-Mama's first comment to me was that if I go with anymore hiking groups, I may want to keep those comments to myself. Good advice. But in addition to this excellent point, she helped me realize that it's not that I don't care about any of those things. Actually, it's that I do care just a bit about those factors but only as smaller, almost inconsequential parts of the greater whole. Hiking is about...well, the hike. It's about being there – outside and on the trail surrounded by everything. And it’s about simply putting one foot in front of the other. At that moment, I recognized that hiking is my own wacky form of meditation. Go figure.
(I told you it was a small nugget of self-realization!)
The bottom line is that I really do like the fresh air and the flora and the fauna and being able to commune with nature, but only taken together. The whole enchilada (mmm . . . yum) allows me that ability walk and release those negative energies that have built up from work, finances, family and the world generally. I’ve done a lot of thinking on the trails, including coming up with ideas for this blog, having revelations about myself, resolving little annoyances clogging my mind, and just generally taking a vacation from reality. I've thought through a problem or a frustrating situation only to be tired of thinking about it by the end of the trek and ready to let it go. And I've daydreamed about various innocuous things and for that limited time I was able to step out of my own reality and escape the world. Man, that’s some serious deep thinking!
Sure, my hikes sometimes include the occasional slip and fall, or slightly sunburned ears, or the ancient and mystical bee-buzzing-around-my-head-panic-and-it-won’t-leave-me-alone-dance. But these are also parts of my meditative package. It wouldn’t be a complete and fulfilling meditative experience without these.
So yep, that's the answer. Hiking is my meditation. I guess you could say that I’m my own dirty faced, scraped knee, sunburned ears, bee stung trail guru.
Cool. I feel one with the world.
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