Hiking in the Rain

I woke up and checked the weather forecast. There was a 40% percent chance of thunderstorms, and I had signed up for a hike organized by Highland Yoga. I decided to roll the dice and head up to the studio. I met up with the organizer, and we talked about coffee as we waited for the others to arrive before driving to to the trail. The weather looked clear up until moments before we started the hike. Thunder crashed, and the rain started coming down. It got heavy. I noticed a thought arise in my mind - “this is rather unpleasant, perhaps I made a mistake.” It’s a good thing I caught it because I was able to let it go before it had a chance to take root. As I continued the hike, I actually found the feeling of the rain to be cathartic. It dried up after an hour or so. Nobody was complaining, and everyone was in good spirits. I met some cool people, and I’m glad I decided to roll the dice.

I know I can’t control what happens, but I make an effort to control how I respond. This isn’t easy, and I frequently fail. I find awareness and practice help. Let’s say I’m driving around and someone cuts me off. After the initial feeling of annoyance, I have a choice in how I respond. I can lean into the anger and feed the frustration by harshly judging the driver. On the flip side, I could use some perspective and realize this is not worth getting irritated. This is a life saver for my mental health. I have noticed a direct correlation between judging other people and being in a terrible mood.

I read Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl a few years ago. It was published in 1964 and is an account of his time in a concentration camp during World War 2. He wasn’t dealing with unfavorable hiking weather and rude drivers. He was surviving the Holocaust. I find this quote of his to be profound.

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”