I’m extremely new when it comes to writing. . . .if you couldn’t already tell. I’ve started to notice though that when I write, any topic that involves helping people out or giving back comes effortlessly. Whereas trying to write about a recap of what I did while hiking isn’t always the most enjoyable. And not that it’s not enjoyable, but there’s more resistance when it comes to a post like that. It doesn’t flow the way I’d like it to. So with that being said, this post is going to be about everything that I learned while out on the trail. Hope you enjoy.
The single most important thing that I gained from this trip was a new found respect for mother nature. Everyone always ask about the wildlife situation. What about mountain lions? Did you see any bears? I get it. And yes I did run into a bear for those wondering. Thought it was a dog at first but that’s besides the point. My biggest worry out there though was thunderstorms. I wrote about my run in with the lightning that struck within a half mile from me at most in “The Experience” so I won’t totally recap it here. I honestly thought though that the next strike that was coming was coming for me considering how close it was. Plus I had zero coverage on top of the fact that I tripped and my gear went flying everywhere. And on top of the other fact that I was running with an umbrella. Not my smartest move of 2017/life. Experiencing something like that made me really understand that there is something more than me out there. I gotta believe that some of these big wave surfers, or people who summit these massive peaks come to that same realization. And maybe that “realization” is nothing more than a healthy respect for nature. But man, every time after that that I came across lightning, I was absolutely terrified. As a storm starts to creep in, you can start to feel that there’s this life force behind it and that you have zero control in with what’s about to happen. In a sense that whole experience was extremely humbling. I think me tripping though was the cherry on top. In that moment everything shifted from this “me” factor to “if there’s something out there, god, who or whatever you are, please help me out right now.” I think as humans we like to think were at the top of the “life pyramid” and in a way we are. But we’re very bad at letting ego take over that mentality that keeps us from seeing that there’s something more than us out there. And maybe that’s nothing more than hippy nonsense, but when you come across something that gives you a little glimpse into what I’m talking about, it’s instantly humbling.
While this next one is nothing that I didn’t learn from the PCT, let alone ever day life, but the simple act of practicing gratitude. More or less gratitude for the little things. It’s easy to be thankful when you come across a stunning view with the right sunset. I find though that when you start to find gratitude in the little things, it makes life that much easier. You start to take things a little less serious. Think about how you feel when you experience a surge of gratitude when you come across a breath taking view with the perfect sunset. There’s nothing like it. Now think about how life would be if you could experience that feeling on a micro level multiple times a day. Maybe for 5 seconds you experience true presence coming across a flower in full bloom No thought, no judgement, just experiencing that moment as it is. Maybe you would be in literal tears coming across an ice cold coke while on trail. Although I do chalk that moment up to trail magic being the godsend that it is. Any little cheat code to help make life easier goes a long way.
And I think the last thing I could really take away from this is constantly throwing yourself in the fire. I talked about going through a period in one of my previous blog post where I was extremely unsure with myself experiencing a ton of self doubt. Getting past that point in my life wasn’t easy. I mean I still have those days where I question myself but not like I use to. The more I throw myself into the fire with these crazy experiences and come out the other side alive, the more I learn that I can depend on myself when shit hits the fan. I know that there’s not going to be this other side of me that sneaks in when life gets too hard. Or the more internal work that I do getting brutally fucking honest with everything going on in my life, the more I learn that I can trust myself. And the more I set difficult goals for myself and actually accomplish them, the more I learn how to manifest the kind of life that I want. Obviously throwing yourself in the fire is hell. Pun intended. But looking at how that’s benefited me in the past couple of years, I don’t think there’s ever been a greater investment. I’m trying to go through this life the best way that I see fit for how one should live it. The best way for me. I got ideas. I got plans for the future and along the way I hope to give back what I can. Thank you for actually taking the time to read anything I have to say and thank you for following me along this wild ride.
