Running, hiking and biking
Life is moving and when I sit still I often get the feeling it may leave me behind. Life is an action, an adventure, rather than time passively passing by. When talking about adventure people often think of tropical islands, secluded deserts, snowy mountains or lush rain forests, and they are right, but at the same time adventure is a choice. A way of life that doesn’t have to take place far away. An adventure might as well be discovering every nook and cranny of the neighbourhood. Nobody understands this better that young children. They run around seeing a world that can no longer be observed by adults. They smile and enjoy the sunshine on their skin while playing in the water imagining it to be an ocean. Sometimes I find myself feeling jealous of their momentarily utter joy. Sometimes I wonder where I left mine behind. Then I realise that I haven’t. My favourite things in the world are running, hiking and riding my bike. They all have in common that, when I am doing them, my worries disappear and I enter my own little world. They let me completely live in the moment. Everything apart from the road straight ahead of me stops existing. I just run, hike or ride, breathe, look around and smile. The best and most scary moments of my life have been while doing these activities. Admitted, most of them didn’t take place close to home. Never did I feel so proud as when completing my first river crossing and dirt riding. Never in my life was I so out of breath as when carrying my backpack up to Annapurna Base Camp. Never was I more thankful to be alive than when I climbed back out of a roaring river that had pushed me down. Never was I this grateful for already having experienced so much in life than now during the corona pandemic. My life isn’t yet what I dream it to be, but I am lucky to be living life the way I am. May the road ahead be long, winding and full off unforgettable experiences.
