Hiking is the most cleansing and exhilarating of exercise for me. What I like most about hiking is spending some time away from the busy life where it is always seems like people are running around trying to get somewhere and stressed out. When I am away from the city life, away from the noisy cars driving back and forth sometimes honking at one another, when I am away from this and in an area where I’m more with nature, I just feel at peace, yet revitalized at the same time.
Depending on where you’re hiking, your vision will be a lot different from what you see in the city. For me, it’s usually lots of green trees, dense coffee plantation, blue skies with clouds floating, and sunrays passing through the leaves of the trees lighting the pathway in front or nearby. Even though physically, it may seem exhausting, it really never feels like it because our thoughts are always wandering as we’re walking. That’s the most important thing I like about hiking is that it brings peace in my body and thoughts, drift freely and gently, exploring new thoughts that enlighten me.
Sometimes we’ll think of memories of the past, good or bad, but it’s rather easy to shift negative thoughts into positive thoughts in this nature-like environment, moreover, we’ll find of one that just give us a light bulb moment which we can remember and implement later at home. Sometimes in the midst of our thoughts, we’ll be hear a “hello” from a person passing by, in which we say “hello” or “good morning” back and it never feels as awkward as it would be in the city if we were passing somebody on the street and hiking to Ijen is an example where we frequently encounter friendly people greeting us along the trail.
Hiking itself isn’t really about reaching to the mountain top, it’s more about spending time away from the pressure and stress of society and becoming more in tuned with ourselves as a person and with nature too. Alternatively, walking in a park, bicycling outside of the city, or any outdoor activity could benefit the same way. Sometimes, the simplicity of nature does give us inspiration we need in order to move casually and peacefully through our daily lives.
