Things I hope to learn from the OT – Part 2

As my journey approaches, I reflect on some of the lessons I want to find in the OT. Whatever happens, I also really want to leave the road a better person than when I arrived. It might be an easier task if I know how I want to improve and set some intentions.

Presence

I once went from noticing a moment in late summer to it suddenly being winter. I know the time in between included long hours in the office and a lot of stress. But I’m sure I also had moments of enjoyment, fun and doing things I like.

At one point, the summer sun warms my face as I leave the office one afternoon. The lake next to the parking lot sparkles and I take a moment to breathe in the warm, fresh air before driving home. A river almost whispers pleasantly and the world is filled with green, blue and light. Flicker. Now, I’m standing by the mailbox, listening to the sound of metal on metal as the lid closes. Everything is eerily quiet. The kind of silence you only get in winter. I lift my head towards the sky. It is very cloudy, so you cannot see stars in the night sky. As I take a moment, the first snowflakes of the season hit my cheeks and melt immediately. They are small and I only notice them because I am still and present in that random moment in my life.

At the same time I realize; I don’t remember anything between those two moments. Almost half a year of my life. Missing. I am shocked and saddened.

Looking back, I intend to make presence one of my ambitions for my walk. Fittingly, I have half a year ahead of me to practice.

live with less

On the AT I will have to carry literally everything I need. As a chronic overpacker, I’m already looking forward to learning what I can leave behind. Hopefully, it will be a mindset I can take with me when I return home.

Packing up my apartment while preparing it for the tenant made me realize how much stuff I have. Plus, none of that was essential to living in the apartment either – everything I left for the new tenant.

Plus, as I cleaned and packed, everything seemed a lot lighter with each box that left the floor. It reminded me of something I read in a blog post by a former hiker (although I can’t seem to remember who), who said that one of his takeaways from hiking was that, while often purchased for convenience, all the things we surround ourselves with end up feeling more like a burden once you learn the value of living with less. In fact, this blogger went on to say that they found it ironic that as living with less, life began to seem more comfortable.

I hope to go through a similar mental shift.

time to practice

I may be setting the bar pretty high for what I hope to learn from this walk in the woods. However, with the intention made, I am at least increasing the likelihood that things will move in the right direction.

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