One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.
William Shakespeare
No one likes to be alone; I know I don’t like being alone. Life is more enjoyable when you have companions. As much as I love nature and love to be there solo, as I previously shared in an earlier post, it actually has a different taste when others join me.
I went on two hikes during the fourth of July week. The first was with a friend and the second was with my family. The lessons learned from these hikes were fascinating. While the hike was similar to the one I did solo few months back, similar lessons are different when in a group, and even the two groups presented different learning.
Hike 1
The first hike was at Umstead Park with my friend. It was a very hot and humid day, yet the trees were great in providing some shade. One important point to note here is my friend has been on this trail several times and she knew how to navigate through it very well. I haven’t worked out in a while and this was a bit challenging for me. I was out of breath soon after we started, yet we continued. We planned on the entire trail (~6 miles) and I was excited about this opportunity to be with my friend and get back into nature and be more active.
As we were chatting throughout the way, we would stop to enjoy some fascinating parts of nature and pose for some pictures. We would also fascinate over what would be possible at those stopping points. On our hiking journey, we passed by others who were going the opposite direction while some were faster than us and we gave them the chance to pass us.
We took a detour off the trail as my friend knew of a great relaxing area where we enjoyed the beautiful scenery watching the lake seamlessly connecting through different parts of nature and flowing on the rocks and into the other side of the lake. That was a refreshing break!
We continued back on the trail as we completed the hike to the end. It was an amazing experience to be with someone who is more expert than me on this journey.
Hike 1 Lessons
Now, the same lessons I had on my solo hike apply here with a slight twist. Other hikers and runners on the trail represented shiny balls that I tried to follow so I can be on “their fast track” and got distracted as I went off the trail. This wasn’t the case here. My friend served as the guide and I trusted her navigation. Rather than following the shiny balls, we stayed in place and allowed them to pass us. In life, it is more enjoyable to have a guide to help me navigate some unknown pathways rather than me following every pathway and get frustrated by getting off track.
The hiking journey was long, and it took us ~3 hours to complete the entire trail. When I hiked the same exact trail solo, it took me about the same time; however, I never had the chance to complete the entire trail. I got lost, tired, frustrated, even when I asked for help, I asked multiple times before I was able to get back to the car. In addition, we also went off trail for few minutes to explore something new and different before we went back on track.
It’s critical that you explore different pathways, yet you need to mitigate your risk rather jumping into the risk. Some opportunities are worth jumping into regardless, yet others are worth mitigating the risk to prevent adverse effects.
Hike 2
The second hike was at Crowders Mountain State Park in Charlotte. This hike was with my parents, one of my brothers, and two of my kids. None of us have been there before and decided to be outdoors.
In the beginning, we went to the Visitors Center to learn more about the different trails. We wanted something that was easy enough and enjoyable across the multiple generations. My parents were a bit hesitant to go and we started at different intervals. They were able to hike for few minutes then the heat and the trail were not meeting their choice of hike.
My daughter and I took turns taking them back to the Visitors Center. The hike was split between 2 teams: my brother and my son, and my daughter and me. They were ahead of us and we agreed to follow a specific trail. My daughter and I took the opposite turn which put us on the other side of the same trail. Once we reached the top where there was a second fork, we decided to hike it back down. On the way back, there were some people who were asking for directions towards the parking lot. Since we hiked parts of the trail several times, we were able to guide them. My family was glad to finally see us make it back as they were ready to leave.
Hike 2 Lessons
This is slightly different experience, yet the same. We all had the intention to hike and be with each other, yet we aligned on the fact that we will each do this hike according to our physical ability. We were able to mitigate the risk of being completely lost or getting on a hard or strenuous track by going to the Visitors Center. This represents asking for help in real life. When you start a new project, you need to have your framework, available resources, and any possible risks so you know how to execute it. Diversity on the team makes the experience more enjoyable.
Communication is very crucial for everyone on the team. When transparency is absent, it creates assumptions which may lead to incompetent decisions. We were clear in our communication about the hike and where to meet. Yet, things changed throughout the way and we were unable to keep everyone informed. When the two final hiking teams decided on a path, they assumed the path will continue in one direction and didn’t discuss what other possibilities there may be. Each team assumed the best path based on the given information and didn’t communicate that to each other. While we all met at the end and left together, we experienced the journey differently and delayed the final meetup time.
This is a typical scenario that happens in life. How many times have you started out great knowing what’s going on for a project and then end up losing track of the progress and what you need to do?
Conclusion
These two hikes have been great in teaching me how to be with others when on a journey. While I have great self-awareness, a vision, and ability to hike, the experience was enriched with my companions. My friend was helping me navigate the way as we were enjoying our journey and exploring new pathways. My family was cheering me on, concerned for my safety, and served as delightful unique companion throughout the journey. Sometimes it’s not what you do or how you do it; it’s who you do it with.
Who is guiding you in your life journey?