Yesterday we hiked Liberty Springs, the first trail I ever did when I first started hiking and backpacking in 1999.
It's a hard trail between 8.5 miles roundtrip and over 3,000 feet of elevation gain and then drop again over just a few of those miles.
In 1999, I can remember immediately falling in love with the feel of being in the mountains and the connection between Earth and Sky, but I was woefully underprepared for the trip. I had neither the gear nor experience to do anything other than be miserable, cold, and in pain for the vast majority of the 4 days of the adventure. My brother and I still found ways to have fun and laugh at at ourselves, but misery was still the underlying theme behind it all.
I’ve been blessed to spend many weeks and months exploring some of the great mountain ranges of the world since then and immerse myself in places like the Himalayas, New Zealand, and the Canadian Rockies. Yet, many aspects of misery wove as threads throughout these adventures due to chronic pain in my feet and body, improper gear, and lack of planning.
I would intermittently meet someone on my travels who seemed like they were genuinely having a wonderful time, but most people seemed like they were struggling as well. I began to ask myself if I was missing something.
Finally, 15 years after I started hiking and backpacking, I talked through a number of my issues with someone who had a lot more knowledge and experience than I did. He recommended that I get trekking poles.
I had hated the idea of trekking poles and thought that they were a crutch that would lead to me being weaker or dependent on something outside of myself to be able to function.
He helped me understand that poles aren't a crutch, they are a TOOL that would help me.
Once I started hiking with poles, I was blown away at how much they helped.
🔥 I could use much less energy to accomplish the same hike, or use the same amount of energy to go farther
🔥 I could eliminate the chronic pain and physical misery I had endured for years
🔥 I could catch myself on challenging terrain before I fell
🔥 Most importantly, I could truly just experience joy from my adventures for the first time ever and stopped having to settle for fun amidst the misery
Our time here on earth is the greatest adventure we’ve ever taken and you are here to live with joy - not just to find fleeting fun amidst the misery.
The spiritual tools that I teach are essential spiritual equipment for the journey that most people are missing. They work much like trekking poles have worked for me. It's not that you can't make it through the adventure without them, but when people choose to apply them, you
✨ Travel through this world with greater ease and move faster through the enormous challenges that we are facing
✨ Eliminate the chronic pain and misery that most people have come to accept as normal in their lives
✨ Catch yourself, your subconscious, and your negative ego’s tricks before they take you down
✨ And most importantly, help you find a path to experiencing life as true joy as you make the world a better place for everyone
