As you all know I get outdoors and hike a lot! Not as much as I would like to but probably more than most.
On a daily basis people ask me –
Why?
What is the fun of it?
It is too dirty!And it is way too hot and there are bugs yuck….
So today I thought I would bring you into my world a little. Let me start by sharing with you why I as a hiker get outside…
I as a Hiker am more fit because of getting outside! Think about that for a moment. Just getting outside on a trail for 1 hour could possible burn over 400 calories and it is more beautiful than the inside of a gym. If you don’t believe me put on your fit bit and get on the treadmill for an hour and then go and get out on a hiking trail for an hour which one wins? I say the Hike for many reasons but, remember, according to research, being outside hiking not only gets you burning calories you could be reducing your blood pressure.
I find as a Hikers I am more creative! Some say that that spending time outside increases your attention span and creative problem-solving skills by as much as 50 percent. Besides hiking gets the creative ideas flowing far more than sitting or trying to stay in pace with a conveyor belt – LOL.
OK here is my favorite one….
I as a Hiker I am much happier. Studies show hiking can help people with depression “Being out in nature, away from the business of our daily lives and technology, can allow people to connect with themselves and nature in a way that brings about peace and a sense of well-being,” Leigh Jackson-Magennis, REI Outdoor Programs and Outreach New England Market Manager.
But let me tell you something else… from experience, Hiking can and does HEAL the soul! Getting outside not only gets you away from the daily grind of being around to many electronics, it gets you away from the stresses of daily life, it shows you how to look around at your surroundings, enjoy the beauties of nature and learn to appreciate what this planet gives to you on a daily basis.
So here are my answers to the questions above:
What is the fun of it? I get to go outside, explore like I did when I was a kid, feel like I have to impress no one and make my own way, at my own pace, to where I want to go, without judgments of any kind – all just because I want to!
It is too dirty! Well that’s all in the eyes of the beholder. I love to touch the dirt beneath my toes and the trees inside my hugs. It grounds me and makes me feel Happy! Science shows that everything in the world vibrates and different vibrations affect behaviors. So for example when I hug a tree I feel Happy… so see the outside, dirt and all, it changes me!
It is way too hot and there are bugs… Well all I can say about this one is yes it gets hot so I just go out earlier…. As for the bugs they are just trying to survive like us all so I admire them and remember that fact and move on (well accept for the mosquitoes they I try to avoid at all costs, oh and the snakes they I run from….)
So, there you have it… this is why I love to hike and get outdoors! I get to explore, imagine, create, love and heal within me, which inevitably affects my whole life such as my family, friends and my surrounding.
So the reason for this posting today – I hope to inspire some people to get outside, be open to the possibility of letting it change you for the better, and then, share the love of it. Take your kids, your husband/wife/mother/father or friends and enjoy it for all the beauty it shares with you!
I don’t usually share my personal writing publicly with anyone, I dont really know why but I don’t. However, Today I want to share a poem I wrote while out on a hike last weekend by myself (I was inspired by a close friend to let a little part of me share with the world :)).
Imagine, the temperature was a perfect 70 degrees, the wind was blowing through my hair, the silence was so loud I could almost hear earth and all its wisdom talking to me and all I could do was stop, mid step, right there in the middle of the trail, take a deep breath, deeper than I can ever remember and time seemed to stop as if the movie real had broken. It was amazing actually, and the next thing I knew, an hour had passed and I had started writing again (its been a while). Writing of all things poetry. I felt empowered, happy, sad, and on some level healed. Like a thing layer of me had been shed and I was at a new high point in my life! It was amazing!
So here I share with you all because I feel it is worth the comments, good bad or indifferent and I hope it is inspiring for some…
I am in the wind and the wind is in me
The wind is like a tune, I’ve never heard before
So soft, yet, so full of strength
It pulls me closer to see its source
But I never can quite find it
Funny how our journeys are so aligned
Yet we cross different paths to get there
She goes through the mountains
Yet I go over
She goes over streams
Yet I go through them
But somehow, because our search is so familiar
We continue to move forward
Funny how we can both take different paths
And still we end up together and alone
Somewhere between Happiness and Fulfilled
We find ourselves on our journey
Together at last
Shugar 2015
