The Trekker's guide to life

Funny how each hill ahead of you looks so green and inviting, and you just want to reach there.
Funny how each hill behind you looks just as green, and you wished you could have lingered there more.

Funny how the hill you are climbing now feels rocky, and you get tired by climbing the steep path etched by others. There are instances where you feel really good, the sight of two lambs frolicking, of the cowherds cheerfully controlling the grazing livestock, of the sheepdogs yawning in the light. And then the instances where you feel like just giving up, like when a bag you carry to the top of a hill goes rolling down when you make a careless move. You regret it for a good long while later, but if you are lucky someone went out of their way to help out, and you have your bag back. If not, tough luck. That which isnt important can be replaced. That which is, should have been kept safer. Learn the lesson, move on.

There are times where you take a break, crash to the ground and just lie down. Listen, the wind through the trees are speaking, listen to the leaves rustle. Feel the drops of sweat roll down the top of your eyelids, feel it cool you off in the mellow wind. Smell the scent of a thriving forest, smell the nectar that draws the bee near. See the rays of the sun glance off the swaying treetops, see the sun play peek-a-boo with you. The symphony is playing if you want to free your senses. You can lie there for long, but know when to get up, your journey is not yet done.

You climb to the top of the hill and look with pride at all around you. You see the next hill, the longing begins. Given a choice between a direct path at the same level to the next hill, and climbing down and back up to the next peak, which would you choose. Whatever be your choice, in which case would you feel a greater sense of accomplishment. Is it for that rush, that people do it? Is it necessary, so you feel pride over your ambition, instead of taking it for granted?

Along your way, did you find anyone who needed any help with their baggage? Sometimes, your companions dont need a helping hand, they just need the company. The stance, the silence, it helps more at times than the hand. Did you know which to give and when? Did you wish someone gave it to you when you needed it?

Finally when you are too tired to go on, mentally or physically, when you look back at all the hills you conquered, do you think more about the number of hills? Or do you instead look at the people who were with you the whole time, and grin unconsciously? Did you have such people?


At the end of the entire trip, if a layman was to see what you did, he may wonder why someone took the entire trouble to walk up and down mountains. Seems crazy to him. He just doesnt get it. It's not the start or the destination that matters, it's the journey. It's not the distance you walked, it's not the heights you scaled, its the path you followed, it's the relationships you make.

That's how they'll remember you.