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Mother Natures Son
04-09-2011, 18:59
:bananaWhat life lessons (if any) did you learn from the trail and how did you incorporate them in your life?

-SEEKER-
04-09-2011, 19:27
Learned:
1 There is still goodness in the world
2 To allow people to help me
3 To accept random gifts of kindness

Incorporated by paying things forward and not being so critical of others back here in the real world.

dragoro
04-09-2011, 19:31
That I can tend to be too critical of people if I'm not paying attention to myself.

mweinstone
04-09-2011, 19:42
as a kid alone hiking the trail in the 70's, i passed few hikers each day. i imagined there was a sociaty of dirty hippy hikers somewhere and vowed to find them if they did indeed exist. in 2004 i found yall. just as i imagined i would one day. and my life is now better by leaps and bounds. i lerned no matter how weird you are theres a group for you just look harder. the first one of your kind i ever met was hawk. he was about 22 in 76. i will find him one day and reintroduce myself.i hope. thanks hawk wherever you are.

AndyB
04-09-2011, 20:49
Perspective: yes it's raining, but at least there's water. Dang is it hot but at least we aren't freezing like we did in Georgia. Give all you can, encouragement is free, it's not a race, life is not a race. Sometimes the miles suck but grind them out anyway, my second wind could be right around the next bend..There's lots of them but most for me were about perspective and letting go of the stuff I had no control over

Pedaling Fool
04-09-2011, 20:59
We all hear it, "Americans eat too much", but no one really understands just how much we actually eat -- way too much. A long-distance hiker that must ration food learns this and understands just how efficient the body can be when not pampered and fed everytime the stomach makes a noise or feels empty.

Feral Bill
04-09-2011, 21:16
I learned that I haven't got the sense to get in out of the rain.

pfann
04-09-2011, 21:22
Simplicity- We spend a lot of time whining about this and that at home. Ten days on the trail and I'm high-fiving people because I got a free pair of socks. Life doesn't have to be complicated to be joyful. We tend to ignore simplicity.

Kindness- I was, and am, amazed at the kindness and generosity shown by those whom I have never met, and will probably never see again. We all need to return that whenever possible, not just on the trail.

Positivity- Whether I was passed by a faster hiker or someone going the other direction people were generally very positive and encouraging. People on the trail who are negative tend to stand out, and not in a good way. Sometimes off the trail it is the other way around.

Those are my 3 ideas off the top of my head. Hope they help stimulate thought and encouragement.

Hike strong!

-pfann

sbhikes
04-09-2011, 21:39
:bananaWhat life lessons (if any) did you learn from the trail and how did you incorporate them in your life?

Still working on it I guess.

One thing I learned is that the universe really does provide. But I have found that hard to incorporate into this other life.

I learned there is another way to live. But I have found it hard to incorporate into this other world.

I learned my feet are pretty wide. So I wear much wider, looser shoes now.

I kind of learned not to care. I got really good at shoving down my feelings so I could cross a scary glacial melt stream or deal with 5 days of solitude not seeing another soul or deal with semi-starvation. I guess I've brought that back. I'm better able to cope with completely intolerable people and put up with stuff at work.

4shot
04-09-2011, 21:50
I learned that I can walk a very long way with a pack on my back and that I could conquer the mental component of the hike. Which is why I went, to see if I could.