As a fellow human being who has trekked on 3 different terrains during the pandemic… I believe I am a self-proclaimed expert in the field.
Oh, who am I kidding?
Let’s take baby steps and learn how to trek together…surviving the urban wilderness!
Identifying the terrain:
Is it rocky? A little slippery? Smooth? Loose soil? So much to analyze.
A smooth road full of loose soil looks pleasing to the eye, but one step on it will send you down a slippery slope.
The big strong rock, on the other hand… may look intimidating and rough. In reality, it gives you the support to climb and excellent grip.
The smooth road… makes me feel so warm and welcome…and then traps me with its slipperiness. Laughing at my foolishness.
The big boulders…they help me test my abilities. It takes time to get past them, but they help to it safely. Much like tough love and not slippery sugarcoated words of affection.
Reminds us of the people in our lives.
Posture:
If you hold your head high and strut…you’ll fall. It’s not a runway.
Sometimes you have to bend, crawl, slide, duck, tiptoe…to get past it all.
You have to adjust in order to survive, eventually move forward, and triumph.
Just like the proud stiff tree does not survive the storm, but the flexible sapling twists and bends to get through it all.
Which road to take?
There is no right road. Some may be easy for you and some may be easy for others. You have to choose which one works best for you.
Don’t look at what path others are taking. You’ll get distracted and may trip.
Manage your thoughts:
Trekking engages your entire body. You don’t have the time to think of anything else. You are 100% focused on your current step.
It is one of the few things where you are completely ‘living in the moment’.
Difficulty:
Right after a tough patch, an easy one will be at your disposal. The easy patch gives you momentary relaxation and also helps you make up for the lost time during the difficult patch. It’s up to you and me to use it wisely.
The tough and easy patches alternate…one is never constant.
Taking rest:
I cannot stress this enough. Taking timely water breaks and resting for a while, charges you up. It is a very important part that is often overlooked.
Quite similar to the dilemma of not resting enough on the weekend after a week of overworking yourself.
Sitting on an uneven rock, resting your feet, feeling the cool breeze on your face…it’s a refreshing pause. It helps you see the beauty of your journey.
Taking support:
Take as much support as you need. Use branches, rocks, a helping hand of a fellow traveler…whatever you need at that time.
Because together…you can do much more!
Sometimes, it’s purely psychological. You know you can cross a certain path; you just need to touch a tree slightly to get through. Little do you realize, that a small support goes a long way.
Being resourceful:
You learn how to make use of whatever you have, be it food, water, gear, or clothing.
You automatically learn to be grateful when you drink that sip of cool water…to you; it becomes the most delicious beverage in the world. Hmm…I wonder why we hadn’t noticed it before…
Speed:
You have to keep moving.
In some places, if you try to be too cautious…you may lose your balance.
Keep up the momentum…and you’ll be fine. Speed is necessary at times.
After you get back home:
Aftercare is most important. While climbing the hilltop, you may not feel pain… but after a day, your muscles can be sore.
Treat yourself to delicious food, a bubble bath, and lots of sleep. Massage yourself a little…you deserve it!
Acknowledging that your body needs rest and giving it love and care…makes it happy!
Reaching the destination:
At points, while trekking, you probably won't be able to see your destination. That’s okay. Just have faith and keep moving at your own pace…steadily, consistently…
Sometimes you make see the people who were trekking by your side went ahead of you and came back down while you were still on your way up. That’s perfectly awesome.
You trek to enjoy the journey…to feel the beauty around, to test your own limits, like a fun game to see where you'll go.
It does not matter who reaches the destination first…what matters is that you reached it too. You are capable to reach it too!
A trek teaches you a lot about life.
I’d like to imagine 2020 was a difficult piece of terrain in the trek of life. At the same time, I’d like to think it was like a rough boulder…hard to climb but with great grip. 2020 taught us so many things that we needed to learn and did it with tough love.
2021 is right around the corner…but since we are trekking…we don’t have the time to wonder how it will be. Right now…let’s live in the moment.
We’ll take it as it comes…together. We’ll enjoy the journey!
My New Year Resolution for 2021 is to live my life like a trek…packing all the things I may need meticulously…but then letting go…enjoying the unpredictability and living in the moment.
I’m going to trek into 2021! Come with me?
Comments