Why Doing Hard Things in Nature Is So Meaningful
On the trail in Oregon
Backpacking, trail running, hiking, snowshoeing… you name the outdoor activity and they’re all challenging. Packs are heavy, you get bruises, rashes, scrapes, bug bites. Sometimes you get lost, which can be embarrassing - or terrifying. It’s sweaty, scary, painful, unpredictable, often isolated, and usually very gross.
So why do it?
John Muir Trail
Everyone has their own reasons, but generally, it’s the most fun therapy there is. For many, it’s also the most effective. This is not an argument against other therapeutic methods. As part of a healing process in combination with other methods, the trail is a great and important teacher.
Getting into the wild is getting away from regular life. But it’s not just a vacation. It’s getting away in time and space. The wilderness separates all the dark memories, the triggers and troubles. The wild crumples them up and shows you that you’re bigger and so much more than your past. It firmly grounds you in the present moment. It breaks down the conditioning and the programming, and you are something new. It challenges mentally, physically, and emotionally while at the same time surrounds you with awe inspiring beauty.
And it doesn’t have to be Mt. Everest, just wherever is meaningful to you.
Mt. Shasta from the top of Mt. Eddy
When in the wild, we can find out who we are without the usual triggers, the influences, and the programming. In many ways, the wild takes away tension and replaces it with the peace, beauty, inspiration of nature. If we let it.
To be in awe in nature is to be full of life.
Merriam-Webster.com defines the word awe as, “an emotion variously combining dread, veneration and wonder that is inspired by authority or by the sacred or sublime,” and “the rapt attention and deep emotion caused by the sight of something extraordinary.”
Doing hard things in the wild brings us into a deeper state of mind, and that is a precious gift in modern times.
Rogue River, Oregon
