There is only one way and you have chosen it…
In my pursuit of making the most of my 20s and embracing diverse experiences, I signed up for Trekking at Skandagiri, the toughest trek in the Bengaluru area. To the unknown, I had never done such extensive trekking through a hill, making my way through the forest trail. And for a first-time trekker, what did not help were drizzles along the way but there were quite a few takeaways that worked out well for the trek and hopefully beyond!
It all started last semester when I decided to go out on a trek before a friend of my graduates. And having gone through COVID waves and our workaholic selves, we could not find the time. But there was a voice underneath which from time to time, reminded me to experience new things. The thrill to challenge ourselves is exciting and inner battles with fears that we win have a deep connection to fulfilment. Take the case of Arjun from Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara(ZNMD), he did have his hooray moment after he overcame his inhibitions and just dived in for scuba activity. And the poem just clicked with me and triggered me to consider trekking.
Apne hone pe mujhko yakeen aa gaya… (Javed Akhtar for ZNMD, 2011)
Drizzling, Cold breeze, dark hill and a community of trekkers. That is how I started my upward ascent to Skandagii Hills. As I run the torch through the ground and decide on the path, Iyas declares — “There is only one path”. And that stayed with me for a while. It reminded me of all the narratives that I had come across. Suddenly, Robert Frost and the road not taken had an appearance yet again. Except for this time, it initiated a chain of thoughts about trekking and learnings from it. As a first-time trekking experience, I was closely observing others finding their way and there were a few observations that made much more sense. A parallel line of thoughts kept on meandering through the trek. And the trekking gyaan applied to approach towards life more broadly and at a philosophical level. A plot of hustling played out, live in real-time.
There is only one way and you have chosen it: Many times, we overthink and speculate in a toxic spiral that becomes detrimental to mental health. When we know what the inner voice tells us about the path ahead, we got to commit it, with no second thoughts about it.
Pause and reflect: In a fast-paced world, we sometimes forget to pause and reflect on our journies. A timely break could do wonders to improve our work. As the lyrics of the Shabaash Anthem from Jaadugar movie goes, “Jab thak ke choor ho badan tera, khud hi ruk ja zara, jab ruk ke paaye raahatein zara, dagar badha”. Take a pause when you are overwhelmed and as you find relief march ahead.
You are responsible for your steps: No matter what they say about keeping a firm foot and avoiding slopes, we very much define and drive our trajectories and are responsible for the consequences.
Support: Sometimes people might offer help. Other times, you are determined to progress regardless of help. And yet other times, you would feel that you are stuck with no idea about the next grip. You would feel lonely and clueless but the next thing you know a voice from the back is ready to guide you. Support, guidance and mentorship in all facets of our lives is so crucial for us.
Nothing as first-timers: I was trekking for the first time but was determined to reach the peak before sunrise. And people across different levels of experience committed mistakes as naive as the so-called first-timers. There are, in reality, learners. And there would be people cheering for your baby step through that slippery surface. Sometimes we tend to attach labels as “first-generation person” to achieve something. Such a label is absolutely necessary to acknowledge but equal if not greater importance is of decoding the ingredients of what constitutes experience and coming up with mechanisms to learn and apply them.
Community: We are surrounded by transitory yet timeless people. And it is this community support that makes it possible to envision a shared reality for the future that is collectively realized.
Our community of trekkers ; Namma Community of Namma Trip:
This post is a labour of love, to absorb all the emotions that I have had as I embarked on my first trek experience. If you have ideas to make this better, feel free to reach out to me on Twitter @jkabiir9 This self-reflection exercise was a delightful experience and puts me into a good mental space!
