What I learnt while hiking

 Nothing to do. Nowhere to go.

It's something we say a lot in meditation. I white-knuckle it a lot, desperately trying to stay in the moment. On this holiday there was nothing to do and nowhere to go. Every day was both very similar and incredibly different. We would get up around seven, make coffee, followed by porridge. then we would break camp, put on clothes (the same as the day before) and walk. When we got to the next camp we would make tea, eat biscuits, put up the tent. Then read or knit until dinner, which was "just add hot water" and we desperately tried not to eat before six. By 7 or 7.30 it was too cold, and we would retire to the tent to read until our eyes wouldn't stay open. 

So, very routine. But there was also a sense of wonder and curiosity. What would  we see on the trail? would the walking be easy or challenging today? What conversations might we have with strangers? Would the weather stay pleasant? 

And there was nothing to distract me from what I was doing. Swathes of time to read, rather than having stolen moments. I didn't bring any audio books. No internet (because we are with voda-phone and kept our phones off, telstra people had internet in places). No choices or decisions once we were on the trail - our food, our clothes, our route where all pre decided and unchangeable.

It was so relaxing and uncluttered. I only had what I needed when I needed it, nothing extraneous. 

So, is this how I want to live my life? No. I like the things that make up my busy life - my friends, audio books, choosing between knitting and spinning and crotchet. But I do want to remember and keep living this feeling. The feeling of being really here, because there is no where else to be.