HIKING : Why it is to be loved.

A simple walk, a simple silence, an exchange between a ‘nature-filled friend’.

Hiking outdoors can bring such a contemplative, tangible richness into one’s own life.

Fast. The world, people, things, it’s all going so damn fast. Many of us wake up, a multi-tasking, already in our sleep…. we are all in the ‘Go’ mode. There is so much ‘go’ in our lives today…. That the beauty in rest within and out….. is a long lost friend that is sorely missed.

There are so many ways, methods that we incorporate into our lives to remind us to slow down. Ways in which we can give relief to our fragmented souls and allow for a moment or moments where unity is found. Yoga, meditation, Tai chi, dance, sport, music... the list goes on. All are wonderful methods to bring release, peace, calm to our bodies, minds and spirits. Methods that share something in common….. the slight movement of energy. Whether it be as simple as the movement of the breath, or as great as the large-motor movement of a leap, movement and being present in that stillness, hearing and feeling the peace of that movement, the sweet density of that moment… seems to be the calling.

Hiking on or off trails gives us an opportunity to move gracefully, with ease and allows us to bare witness to the beauty of Mother Nature’s gifts and experience them within. To move and merge with our own pace, finding our own rhythm, feeling our own pulse inside of our chest, taking in views that uplift the spirit, strengthen the body, and encourage us to keep going forward, because instinctively, the spirit knows and longs for more benevolence to be beheld. It is moments like these… that are worth calming down the ‘Go’ and inviting in the ‘Slow’.

So, when you find yourself getting caught up in that ‘Go Mode’, like a rat in wheel…find time to be outside of your cubicle, find time to be away from your cell, find time to be away from your computer, find time to stop running your mouth, find time to allow the mind to run without trying to catch it, find time to stop chasing after the children or other people, find time away from your daily grind….find time and space to meet up with that ‘long lost friend’ and embrace. It’s you who has been sorely missed.

Hiking? Why it is to be loved? May you get outdoors, get onto those trails and find the answer for yourself.

Blog Writer

Sarah Bannwart