My big reset

I've always loved hiking and venturing into nature and wilderness. Whenever I have the chance you'll most likely find me on top of a hill somewhere, with my trusted backpack as my sole companion 😊.

Before the COVID pandemic exploded on our society I was planning a pretty big long-distance hike. I wanted to take a big break, go on this big adventure. But, with travel restrictions in place, I was forced to postpone.

I kept planning though. The travel ban was bound to clear sometime, right? And now it has, the time has finally come! The date has been set and I suddenly find myself on the verge of this gigantic adventure! Into the wild. Into nature. Into the thing I love doing above all, long distance hiking.

A belly full of nerves

You'd think that after 2 years of planning, with my start just under a month away, I would be buzzing with excitement. But, to be honest, as it draws nearer and nearer, excitement has been mostly replaced by fear and nervousness.

Maybe the fear stems from the fact that it's a dream that's about to come true. Which is beautiful, but also risky. It's no longer hypothetical. It's no longer a dream. It will become very real, very soon. Which means it (or I) can fail.. Or that it doesn't turn out how I dreamed it would be.
Even at km 645 something could happen that would stop me from reaching the finish line. Even after everything I’ve done to prepare. But that's just life, the reality of living in this world. It's an act of faith!

Taking this ghastly risk is the condition of there being life. You see, for all life is an act of faith and an act of gamble. The moment you take a step, you do so on an act of faith because you don't really know that the floor's not going to give under your feet. The moment you take a journey, what an act of faith. The moment that you enter into any kind of human undertaking in relationship, what an act of faith!
-Alan Watts

I've done enough hiking to know that this sort of fear will disappear within the first 24h of the trail. After all, it's simply putting one foot in front of the other, just for an incredibly large amount of time 😊.

In search of things that are lost

Admittedly, this pandemic has left some heavy marks on me. The lock-downs brought forth isolation and estrangement from some of my own core values and beliefs. It seems -to me at least- that the whole world has gone a little bit insane.

The pandemic is now mostly over, but I'm still finding myself working from my home desk most of the time. Mumbling and rambling at the same laptop screen I've been talking to since the lock-downs. I can't say I enjoy working from home 4 days out of 5, but that's how the IT world has evolved. Hybrid remote work has now become the new reality, whether we (or I) like it or not.

A break

I need a break from everything we have been challenged with these last few years.
I need a break from all the noise. I want to breath clean air again and swim in clean water. I want to experience the water rippling past me, and to enjoy the floating sensation when you lie on your back and look at the blue sky and the birds circling about. I want to sit on the top of a hill and listen to stillness of nature. I want to be out where things are simple and every breath is a reminder that there is still beauty and magic left in this world. And I want to go look for it.

I've put my whole life on hold to allow me to embark on my adventure. I'll be hiking through rough terrains for 3 to 4 months! A little Hiatus, a big reset! My adventure is about to begin!

If you'd like to see how my adventure unfolds you can follow my outdoor adventure Instagram account and my newly created blog meditationsonthetrail.com!

Photo by Fabrizio Conti and Manuel Palmeira on Unsplash