Adventure is defined as an unusual and exciting, typically hazardous, experience or activity.
Well I certainly love unusual and exciting experiences.
This is a photo of the Himilayas – The Annapurna Mountain Range – which is where I was trekking this past fall.
It was unusual for sure ….as I had never been in Nepal. So everything – from exploring the wildly chaotic city of Kathmandu, hiking the mountains, learning about the Sherpa and Illama people and the history of Buddhists in Nepal – everything was new.
It was exciting. Scary at times. After all I do have a problem with heights. And yet I was trekking through the highest mountain range in the world.
It was hazardous. People died on the trek. Really. Rescue helicopters were seen flying overhead almost daily. You don’t really know how you are going to adapt to altitude and it requires some planning, listening and mostly slowing down. Some people really suffered. Fortunately the local doctors said people over 50 generally do fine with altitude. Why? Because we are more likely to slow down and listen to our bodies rather than push through. We are more likely to rest and drink lots of fluids. A sign of getting wiser in some areas of our lives.
So what’s it all about? This love of adventure?
I have no desire to die or take unnecessary risks in my life. In fact I love life and love my life. Yet it is thrilling to learn, plan, stretch, grow and have fun doing it. It is amazing to push the body further than you thought it could go (with care).
But really it is about pushing the mind farther. Expanding the unconscious speed bumps limiting my life. We each have a certain limit within with we are comfortable expanding physically, emotionally, spiritually – until we hit our speed bumps.
When I meet a speed bump, my anxiety starts to get noisy. If I let my anxiety take over, fear based self talk could take over: I can’t do it, it is too much, I am afraid , who do you think you are, you are going to die, what’s wrong with you…etc etc etc. These are anxious thoughts that feed more anxious thoughts. However when I stay present in the moment – one foot in front of the other – breathing in breathing out – there is no anxiety. There is only the present moment.
I really discovered this again for myself this trip one morning approaching the world’s highest mountain pass – Thorongla Pass.
It was 4:30 in the morning, pitch dark save for stars and the glow of head lamps way up the mountain from people who left even earlier than us. I was moving slowly taking one step, one breathe at a time in the darkness on the rocky path. Very steep drop on one side. Karma, our Sherpa guide, put on his ipod and played a buddhist chant – Oh Mani Padi Hum . One step one breath one chant. No room for fear or anxiety.
Eventually the sun came up and we continued up to the summit of the pass and down the long road on the other side and over the next week we slowly made our way down into the jungle again. Exhausting, exhilarating adventure.
What did I bring home from the adventure? Memories, photos, souvenirs, friendship, greater understanding and a deep somatic reminder of the power of now.
