What time is it? – Am I late again? What’s for breakfast? Go, go, go… damn the freaking traffic! Ugh, the boss wants to see me, I must have done something wrong. Oh hi! – Can’t wait to hear all about her new stuff and perfect kids… When is the lunch break? How the hell do I fill this form? Why won’t they respond?! Oh gosh, her again? Finally, I can go home! Shut, I forgot the groceries. Running low on gas. Where did this mess come from? – I cleaned it yesterday… Gosh, I gotta call my mom, I forgot last night. I don’t feel like going to that party, what would be a good excuse? Let me just get some take-out. Oh, what happened to him? – He’s upset from work so he’s pouring it all on me? – Great… My face is a mess and my body? – I gotta start working out. But not now, I’m ready for bed. I’ll just check the social media. How is she so perfect? Oh, look at that place! I need to go there. And this puppy, OMG! – Nope, can’t have that. Okay, turn it off – sleep time. But what do I tell my boss about the forms I didn’t fill out today? It will be Fine… It will. Right?
We all know those. The everyday problems. The wheel that slowly spins and brings us from spot A to spot… A. Same morning routine, the same old job, the same problems to deal with every single day. And it’s tiring! The days feel endless, yet they go by fast and leave us a little numb. We got on this ferris wheel once, enjoyed the first few rides, but then it became a routine. The views didn’t change, the creaks always come in the same spots, and we somehow lost count of the spins.
Well, if you waited for a sign, then this is it. Because now I’m telling you to
GET OFF.
You need it more than you think! Because even routine can get overwhelming. And we all need a break. Sick days at home won’t solve anything. Days of doing nothing can drain you even more. You need to get off and get out. Well, I’m now giving you one of the ways to do it.
Get a good backpack, solid shoes, sleeping bag, tent, or hammock, and look for some nice destination with great nature. I’m not talking camping (even though that’s definitely a way to do it too). I’m talking a MULTIPLE-DAY HIKE! If you’ve never done one of those, this is your call. Because that will kick you off the ferris wheel even in the middle of a spin.
So, what is this multiple-day hike thing? It is exactly what it sounds like. A hike that you do over the course of several days. It can be 2, it can be 5, 7, or even more. You just pack all the necessities and go. Yes, you put on that heavy backpack and
HIKE.
It’s that simple. You barely do anything else. You just walk all day long with that backpack and watch the amazing views.
But how does this help me? Isn’t it boring? – Well, could be, but it could as well be the most freeing thing you have ever done in your life. And how does it help you? – Crazily! Because you’ll get a whole new set of problems to deal with. Plus some of the ones you used to have will be solved for you automatically.
You can’t be late because you’re on your own time schedule. You have only very limited options for breakfast. There is no traffic on the forest paths. No boss, no annoying colleges (unless you bring them with you). You have no service, all your food is in your backpack, no mirrors and you’ll fall asleep right away because you’ll be tired from all that physical activity.
On the other hand, there are some new problems that you’ll be often dealing with. Problems and questions that seem simple, but are very core. Like – Where am I gonna sleep tonight? Where can I build a tent? Do I have enough water? Where is the next source of it? Is it gonna rain today? Or tonight? Which path should I take? – The longer one or the steeper one? In how long does the sun set? Is my stuff still wet?
Your legs are gonna be sore, your back will hurt, and you may get some blisters. You’ll be taking layers of clothes off as you walk, and be cold every time you take a longer break, so you’ll put them back on. You’ll feel light every time you put the backpack down, and dragged to the ground when you throw it back on. You’ll get annoyed every time you take the wrong trail or slip on that muddy hill. Your knees will be killing you from all the climbs down, while your thigh and calf muscles will be on fire from the climbs up. Some nights will be colder than others, and some days may be filled with sharp sun or a hard rain.
Sometimes all you’ll want to do will be to stop. To get off the freaking trail, get a taxi and go to a hotel with a bed and air-conditioning or a heater. And you may. But you probably won’t. There will be so many things that can go wrong and some may be more essential than others but you’ll manage to solve them all eventually. Because at that point, it will be worth it.
The views will leave you stunned, the fresh air will be filling not just your lungs, but your whole body and mind. You will get to see a little bit more of the great world with every step you take. You’ll feel more like a being, like you’re one with nature for once. It will bring you physical pain but mental ease.
It’s about the change of problems. About the shift of your focus. Because there will be swelling calves instead of annoying colleagues. There will be rain or a lack of water instead of the work tasks. And this change or shift or switch is what will help you. It may sound like it’s 1 for 1. But it really does make a huge difference. Trust me on this one. The struggle is still a struggle, but if it helps you to forget about the problems you’ve been dealing with every single day, isn’t it a relief after all?
So get off that ferris wheel and take another attraction for a while. I know that you’ll need to step back on it eventually. But you may be coming back with a different mindset, with a different point of view. Maybe the crowd will then become happy faces. Maybe you’ll look further than on the nearby city this time because there are mountains and oceans behind it.
So if your problems get overwhelming, just step back and deal with the core ones. Because that’s the essence. You have basic needs – those are the ones that need to be satisfied. Anything else is just extra. And the sooner you understand that, the better.
There is no such thing as a problemless mind. Your mind will always find problems to deal with. That’s how it was designed. But it’s up to you to pick the problems. Because your mind won’t let you to care about nothing. But you shouldn’t be making it to care about everything either.
Where I have been 