This last week week I led a couple of hikes. One for my women’s hiking group, another for my neighborhood walking group. It’s fun to show others places/trails they haven’t explored. Witnessing the trail through the newcomer’s eyes allows me to see the familiar in a different way. “Ooh’s and aah’s”, “listen to this”, “can you make it over those rocks?” are expletives that ring in the air. “Look over there”, I call out as I lead and scout what’s ahead. The hiking experience changes when you lead others. Not only am I responsible for getting the newcomers from A to B, I want to give them the enjoyment of a new place. To ensure the women’s hike wouldn’t be too taxing, I spent a couple of hours to do recognizance ahead of time; I had to find a good place to park a second car, so we could hike back a different way. The second hike didn’t involve such preparations, but still I had to remind participants the night before to dress for sun, bring water and snacks; something I never have to do for our weekly shorter walks
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When I hike alone, I can let my mind wander. I stop to look when I want to; I stop for me. A luxurious, self-indulgent experience, that is singular, not shared. When I hike with a group, whatever happens becomes a shared experience. When I lead, I know that I create opportunity for happiness and satisfaction for others. In each situation the rewards are different.
Women in my Facebook walking group often ask how to stay motivated to walk regularly. Walk with others, walk alone in nature, start your own walking group is my answer. Doing all three ensures greater distance covered compared to daily neighborhood walks. It’s easier to show up for a friend or group you’ve committed to, then showing up for yourself every day. It’s easier to walk when the chances of lifting your spirit are the reward nature gives you.
Walking to take care of yourself, your physical and mental health, can become a metaphor for living. We live in difficult times. Initiating positive action requires effort. Growing up in a big family, with two parents and six children, meant that laundry was a major chore three times a week, house cleaning happened daily; my father worked long hours to support us, and my mother’s only break was attending church weekly. My thoughtful teenage brother asked my mother how she did it all; she replied, “I don’t think too far ahead. When I wake up, I sit up, put one leg over the edge of the bed, then the other, and I get started.” My mother wasn’t a Buddhist but she knew how to be in the moment. I’m sure she had her moments of despair, but she had a work ethic that kept her sane. I think about her and her way of living life in hard times. She was the oldest girl in a family of 12 children in the south-west of Holland. She lived through WWII with her family, experienced the bombing of their home and business in the inner city, and evacuation from the sea water that came through the broken dykes. The province’s crest was a lion rising up out of the water, with the words: “Luctor et Emergo”, Latin for: I will rise again (and again). (literal translation, “I will maintain”)
We live in difficult political times. Sticking our head in the sand, saying there’s nothing we can do, isn’t the answer. Each day, we can put one leg over the edge of the bed, then the other, and start. We may walk together or alone; either way, we can connect and share. We can even bring happiness to someone by listening, pointing at an exquisite flower, or finding markings in a rock that let us know the ancients came before us. They walked the land just as we do. Their world changed because of climate, tribal war, and times of peaceful trade and cooperation. Keep moving, stay in touch with the bigger picture, connect with others, and when you can, show others the way to feeling better. Each day, rise again and again!
Dami Roelse is the author of several books on walking/hiking and transformational travel: “Walking Gone Wild, how to lose your age on the trail” and “Fly Free, a memoir of love, loss and walking the path”. Her next book, “Body and Grace, a hike to wholeness on the PCT, is forthcoming March 2026 from Mantra Books.
As always, you've inspired me to get out there again. Today.
such inspirational thoughts...thank you!