Andrés RM Velarde
On Hiking & Life.
Life is like hiking uphill. It takes a lot of work to hike uphill. Your calves burn & your feet ache. Yet we continue to put one foot in front of the other. Baby steps work best.
In hiking, as in life, the small steps add up. Small decisions add up. Small mindset shifts add up. If we take the correct steps, if we make the correct decisions, we will be rewarded with contentment & enlightenment. In hiking, these rewards are the vistas. Those scenic overlooks that fill us with awe & wonder. In life, these rewards are new perspectives, insights, and experiences.
Much like when hiking up a big mountain, we will encounter switchbacks in life, too. While the switchback may divert us momentarily from our final destination, it holds immense value. Just at the moment when continuing to climb seems unbearable, the switchback relieves us by offering a path other than “straight up.”
And, more importantly, they remind us that the goal is to keep hiking, forever in search of moments of awe & wonder.
