I spent the majority of the weekend outdoors hiking, enjoying the sunshine. On Saturday morning, I hiked over to Tennessee Valley beach from home. I saw almost nobody until I got close to the parking lot, then was hit with the noise of crowds of people. While the parking lot was very full, I’m guessing most people were headed out on the different trails because the walk to the beach was pretty quiet. In fact, there weren’t a lot of people on the beach because the tide was in so far and the waves were huge, most people kept a very respectful distance. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the water come so far in. On my walk back there were a lot more people heading to the beach, the late morning crowd. Instead of taking the trail back, I had to go on the fire road because there were was a group doing trail maintenance. I was very happy to see a women working sign!
On Sunday, I hiked over to Green Gulch, more gorgeous views enhanced by fog. Several times I heard hummingbirds flitting above me. The wildflowers, in particular the wild irises, were prolific!
On my hike to and from the beach the day before I realized as I was going uphill all I wanted to do was be done huffing and puffing, then when I went downhill all I wanted was to be done because of all the rocks and how unstable it felt. When I got to a downhill area that was packed dirt, so not as unstable, I could walk faster and was happy. I know I don’t want my life to just be a slow, steady, easy descent. I want the hard bits, the rocky areas, the parts where I’m having to work hard. But when I’m in them, I hate them and I just want them to be done as quickly as possible. I’m trying to be present where I am and to not want things to be different. Sometimes even when I have a beautiful view and the trail is exactly the way I like it I just want to be done. I want to be at the end and be able to say I completed my hike. So I see that really it has nothing to do with what the trail is like, how hard or easy it is, it’s that I want to be finished. Which seems crazy since the whole reason I’m out hiking is because I like it! I don’t know why I’m like this. Maybe it’s just wanting to tick one more of those freaking boxes off my list. Argh!
That last paragraph was an introduction to why Sunday’s dharma talk was so relevant. I put it into immediate practice on my hike home. The Abbot talked about the difference between strolling and slogging somewhere and being aware of all the stuff you have in your backpack. Boy, that really hit home! So as I wound my way back up the hill heading home, I really tried to pay attention and appreciate everything around me. It was still a challenging hike, but it did not seem as arduous and I was in a much better headspace. I did some sketching and writing in the backyard after I got home. Heaven!
Monday found me walking to the library (mostly strolling!) I saw lots of colorful flowers, including dozens of bright tulips lining the apartment parking lot down the street, a brilliantly blooming plum tree and vibrant pink-purple plant.
