Being human

Look at that!

I had the pleasure of going on a hike in the Weeki Wachee Preserves, only a few miles from my home, with my good friends Malcolm, John, Jen, Laura and her dog Raven.  It was a lot of walking, a lot of running, some climbing, but it was liberating.  Being out there among the birds and the bees allowed me to express myself in a way that is impossible anywhere else.  The constraints of society are many, and they are heavy, but as we reached the top of a hill to enjoy the view (the image above), my mind began racing.  I'd like to share some of what I was thinking about:

• Walking a fresh path with your legs exposed, the grass scraping at your shins, can be quite stressful.  In my head, I imagined all the other people and animals that have walked this same path and endured the whip of the weeds to reach their destination.  As the path becomes more common to walk, by virtue of the dedication of others, the stress is lessened; the vegetation wilts.  I began to consider and appreciate how this applies to other aspects of life.  Everything we do is easier because other people have done it.  Every time someone attempts to travel off the beaten path, whether they reach the end or not, we owe them respect for even trying.
• To that end, as strong as I've become over the past year and a half, I am still fragile.  My skin does not appreciate with exposure to the flora and I was covered in rash by the time we were done.  The great thing about hiking, though, is that if you're moving, the itchiness kind of goes away.  So I kept moving!  Nevertheless, I am looking forward to adapting to the environment on my next outing.  
• I've always loved climbing and being up high.  I had the opportunity to climb a relatively shallow face, get dirty and test the functional value of the training I've been doing to improve my strength in the gym.  Time and time again, I have been asked what the point of it all is and that's it:  I can do pretty much anything a human being should be able to do, and I can do it well.  I felt like a child scurrying up the rocks.  I felt awakened!  Later on, Malcolm and I ran together and I got to test my cardiovascular fitness.  All is well and I'm pleased to confirm that you don't need to spend hours on a treadmill each week to be able to run like a motherfucker. 
• All creatures, from humans to dogs to wasps to deer, just wanna have fun and sit on a hill. 

Darkness fell and we walked back to the entrance.  I was very sore this morning, as I had also done a bench/deadlift workout yesterday morning before the hike, but I slept like a fuckin' baby and I can't wait to go back.  My little brother wants to start doing some cardio so hopefully he won't mind sprinting through a wetland with me.  Thanks for reading!