I used to struggle to cope.
I also used this as an excuse to eat.
I have now learnt to cope without running away from the problem.
I’m not saying I have my sh*t together at all times.
What I am saying is I’m okay with feeling uncomfortable & I accept that I can’t control every aspect of my life, nor do I want to.
Having become a full on wannabe #backpackwanker meaning I spend most of my free time in walking boots trying to get as high as possible.
I’ve learnt that the weather & walking can teach us a lesson or two.
There are no words to explain how you feel when you are 3/4 of the way up to a summit & the weather is doing everything it can to p*ss you off.
The rain hits your face so hard it quite literally feels like shards of glass.
Your legs are so wet & cold you have no idea what your thighs even feel like anymore they’re so numb.
Your nose constantly runs like a tap so you have practice your snot shot (warning the person behind you)
Your hoods up to strap your hat to your head to keep your ears warm & you literally can*t hear a f*cking thing, to the point that you may as well be doing it alone.
The wind is so strong you feel like the “universe” wants to blow you back to Netflix & Chill.
When you finally reach the summit, you do whatever you can to get the hell down as quickly as possible.
“You do this for fun?!” You might ask…
Hiking, walking, scrambling, rambling, whatever you wanna call it helped me get over myself.
When the world and his dog is doing everything it can to stop you getting to the top.
When you have every reason in the world to stop, turn around & go get comfortable.
You just don’t.
You get over the rain because there’s nothing you can do about it.
You power through the winds because there’s nothing you can do about it.
You layer up and move faster to keep warm because stopping & moaning just makes you colder.
You stop listening to any thoughts in your brain at all other than,
“This is totally f*cked up but I strangely love the thrill of being in the midst of uncontrollable chaos & there’s nothing I can do about it”
You are forced make friends with yourself, because there is no one else to be friends with.
You are forced to be kind to yourself, you laugh, you cry, you cope.
And the feeling when you’re done, overwhelming pride, confidence & pure joy…
Perhaps you might even feel a little bit of curiosity creeping in, “Could I do that again? I want to try, I reckon I could, I mean I coped with this one”
Walking helped me to get over myself and walking taught me how to cope better.
So, how do you, cope?
