Hello folks,
Another Monday has come and is -thankfully - almost gone. Another September without academics to worry about. Another summer fading swiftly away. So much has past me, so much is no longer in my life. I'm still living it up as a single lady, and for the most part (except for the occasional lonely night) I'm really enjoying it. I focus more on my friendships and cooking more than I used to. I've tried new recipes and I bake so much more. I also live with an awesome lady who strongly encourages my baking habits, so that is an influence. I really enjoy being single. I'm starting a ballroom dance class as well, which is something I've always wanted to do but never did because well, I never had a partner who was interested. And I read a ton. A review will be up soon, I promise. The Name of the Rose is just too good to not write about.
This past weekend I went for my first solo hike. Up in Freeport there is this super touristy mountain, Baxter Mountain State Park, which is beautiful and small, but just the right place for me over the weekend to think and ruminate (I know a professor who would be proud I used that). I needed to get away for a little bit, just be alone for a while and succumb to the loneliness and the sadness. Maybe desiring to be alone doesn't make sense, but for a few hours I needed to not have to put on the front and take a deep breath and…chill. It was oddly relieving. Maybe this is why I love hiking so much. I don't need to put on any pretenses, I don't need to talk to anyone, I don't need to make excuses or attempt to look pretty. I just put on my hiking boots and set off for some Thoreau-like sanctuary in the woods. When I reach the top of the mountain, I feel so much closer to happiness. It's like I sweat out the negativity on the way to the top and then the break in the trees with the sunshine is such a cleanse.
Maybe that's why the desire to be close to nature is so strong: it cleanses you in a way. The silence can be a blanket after the harshness of reality, of the busied civilization, where the sounds of cars and people are muted, or not even heard at all. It's pure solitude at its finest, and I can shake off the stress and worry I carry around with me. Its difficult to focus on these stresses when I'm out in the woods. I tend to think of snakes and bugs instead. But when I reach that summit, its a tiny accomplishment. It's not big or anything, just really a small success. It's enough of a boost to alleviate all my stress and worry, its that relief that gets me to the next point, even if that next point is surviving the week.
We all have different ways of washing off the haste and the worry and sadness that comes with life. I think for a while it can be difficult to keep up with, and well life is so overwhelming sometimes. Hiking for me helps keep that balance that is so easy to lose. With the winter approaching rapidly (sheesh, its already September!), I hope to find more time to be out doors. I need to reach more summits, to feel the sunshine even if its somber yellow instead of summer gold, and feel the wind rush against me. It blows away this loneliness, this sadness that still clings to me like moss.
Hiking does so much for me, and I'm really glad I discovered it. I was never much of an outside person, much preferring the books and the inside. But hiking gave me a new outlet, a new way (which also happens to be a healthy way) of dealing with the issues of my life, of giving me a new outlook on things, and a way to find the solitude I crave but in a beautiful, open place.
The view from the top is much better than the one at the bottom. Trust me, I know, I've been there. Haven't you been reading my blog?
Another Monday has come and is -thankfully - almost gone. Another September without academics to worry about. Another summer fading swiftly away. So much has past me, so much is no longer in my life. I'm still living it up as a single lady, and for the most part (except for the occasional lonely night) I'm really enjoying it. I focus more on my friendships and cooking more than I used to. I've tried new recipes and I bake so much more. I also live with an awesome lady who strongly encourages my baking habits, so that is an influence. I really enjoy being single. I'm starting a ballroom dance class as well, which is something I've always wanted to do but never did because well, I never had a partner who was interested. And I read a ton. A review will be up soon, I promise. The Name of the Rose is just too good to not write about.
This past weekend I went for my first solo hike. Up in Freeport there is this super touristy mountain, Baxter Mountain State Park, which is beautiful and small, but just the right place for me over the weekend to think and ruminate (I know a professor who would be proud I used that). I needed to get away for a little bit, just be alone for a while and succumb to the loneliness and the sadness. Maybe desiring to be alone doesn't make sense, but for a few hours I needed to not have to put on the front and take a deep breath and…chill. It was oddly relieving. Maybe this is why I love hiking so much. I don't need to put on any pretenses, I don't need to talk to anyone, I don't need to make excuses or attempt to look pretty. I just put on my hiking boots and set off for some Thoreau-like sanctuary in the woods. When I reach the top of the mountain, I feel so much closer to happiness. It's like I sweat out the negativity on the way to the top and then the break in the trees with the sunshine is such a cleanse.
Maybe that's why the desire to be close to nature is so strong: it cleanses you in a way. The silence can be a blanket after the harshness of reality, of the busied civilization, where the sounds of cars and people are muted, or not even heard at all. It's pure solitude at its finest, and I can shake off the stress and worry I carry around with me. Its difficult to focus on these stresses when I'm out in the woods. I tend to think of snakes and bugs instead. But when I reach that summit, its a tiny accomplishment. It's not big or anything, just really a small success. It's enough of a boost to alleviate all my stress and worry, its that relief that gets me to the next point, even if that next point is surviving the week.
We all have different ways of washing off the haste and the worry and sadness that comes with life. I think for a while it can be difficult to keep up with, and well life is so overwhelming sometimes. Hiking for me helps keep that balance that is so easy to lose. With the winter approaching rapidly (sheesh, its already September!), I hope to find more time to be out doors. I need to reach more summits, to feel the sunshine even if its somber yellow instead of summer gold, and feel the wind rush against me. It blows away this loneliness, this sadness that still clings to me like moss.
Hiking does so much for me, and I'm really glad I discovered it. I was never much of an outside person, much preferring the books and the inside. But hiking gave me a new outlet, a new way (which also happens to be a healthy way) of dealing with the issues of my life, of giving me a new outlook on things, and a way to find the solitude I crave but in a beautiful, open place.
The view from the top is much better than the one at the bottom. Trust me, I know, I've been there. Haven't you been reading my blog?
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