Like any major trail this can be enjoyed (or at times not) at many levels: physical, mental, social, political, historical, natural or sensory. Having walked the length or breadth of a number of countries now I’m starting appreciate the way that walking slowly through a land really embeds it into one’s body and mind in a way that is quite different to other (perhaps equally valid) ways of experiencing it.
Clearly my timing with the Referendum was particularly fortuitous, but leaving that aside, it is a fine thing to travel through many (though not all) of the mainland landscapes of this lovely country, meeting a variety of people (almost universally friendly, interested and helpful) and slowly gain a sense of the place as if by osmosis. One literally absorbs the place just as it comes to meet you in all its variety and under all weather conditions.
And importantly as you discover the land so also you reveal your own strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes, abilities and blind spots. You can certainly learn some things from others but the most important lessons are probably those you teach yourself by meet challenges and thus extending your comfort zone. It is that comfort, built on experience, self-sufficiency and growing self-confidence, that you take back with you after the trail and whose benefits continue to enrich all areas of your life.
No comments:
Post a Comment