Hiking is an adventure. It is enjoyed one step, one view, one flower or rock or plant at a time. Each observation, each sound, each smell or taste or touch, brings you into the present moment. It is about being in the woods right where you are, right now.
I took my granddaughters on a 2 mile hike. We hiked one mile in and one mile out. I was hoping to take them on the 3 mile loop but my youngest granddaughter was making herself miserable the entire way. She wanted to know when we were going to get there.
“It’s not about the destination,” I said, “The hiking is the adventure.” I explained to them that a hike is about being in the woods, exploring nature and seeing what is out here.
My oldest got it. She started noticing every flower, every bug she could find on each flower petal. She noticed the height of the trees and the sunlight beaming through them. She pointed to the river as soon as it appeared through the trees. Nothing was quite as exciting as when she spotted a pileated woodpecker on a fallen log behind a bush. Even her sister, got excited about that.
Just like a hike in the woods, all of life happens in the now. Nothing ever happens in the future which is why Jesus said, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.”
There is also no life in the past. “Nothing ever happened in the past, nothing will happen in the future. Everything happens in the Now.” –Jim Chosa
You have complete control over what you bring into the now. You choose to relive the positive or negative memories. You choose to worry about fearful thoughts of the future. You can also choose to let your now be the now you want to create.
The living is the life.
