Musings on a long walk
Musings on a long walk
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“All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking,” Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
Going through some old drawers the other day, I happened to find a diary that I kept when Emily and I walked the Bibbulmun Track back in 2008. Emily has told that story before as it ultimately lead to us starting at Inspiration Outdoors. The 1,000 kilometre, two month experience was like a line in the sand for us as people and as a couple. It was truly transformative and we often talk about life before and after “the walk”.
The diary hasn’t been opened in the six years since we did the walk, so it was interesting to flick through the pages over Easter.
There are the usual details about kilometres covered, wildflowers spotted and blisters popped, but there is also a strong theme to some of the writing.
“Everyone has great ideas, but not everyone can act on them”
“We judge others by their actions but we judge ourselves by our intentions”
I found in the writing a real desire to be someone who can act consistently in accordance with their beliefs. A desire for integrity more than anything else.
Humility was also a big theme.
“There is a reason why evolution gave us 2 eyes, 2 ears and only 1 mouth!”
I like that one. And there was this gem, written from a hut on the Pingerup plains.
“Let your actions speak for you, they are the only thing people will truly believe”
It is interesting to me to reflect on the state of my mind during such a transformative experience knowing now, how the experienced would change our lives.
Being present was also a consistent theme.
“It was like watching myself from afar. Nothing was a surprise, nothing was hard”
“It is hard to be unhappy when you are smiling”
If I was braver, I might get that last one tattooed somewhere!
And finally I also found a real theme about how treating others well is the secret to feeling good.
“Competition just makes a loser out of someone”
“We are only judging ourselves when we judge others”
That last one is straight out of the Tao De Ching.
A lot of walkers I have met use the time walking to think through important things in their lives. I wonder who else out there has had a change of life direction after a long walk.
If anyone else has had some pearls of wisdom strike them whilst out of the trails, we would love to hear about your experience in the comments below.
Thanks for reading,
Happy Trails
Simon
