I had grand plans for everything I wanted to accomplish before I embark on a month long hiking adventure in Japan and now, suddenly, I find myself leaving tomorrow!
I have been observing in myself an old pattern of overestimating what I can get done within a certain time frame while simultaneously undervaluing what I have in fact accomplished. My seemingly never-ending ‘to-do’ list often overwhelms me and I can feel as though I’m chasing my tail. However, when I remind myself to pause, take a deep breath, and reflect with a calm, self-compassionate mind, I see progress. It might not be quite as I had envisaged but I’m learning to trust that what has needed to get done has been done. Everything else can wait. This quote has been a timely reminder:
“The less you believe you have to do, the more you achieve what you need to do” (Alan Cohen)
And so tomorrow I am literally leaving my ‘to-do’ list behind as I embark on a much anticipated hiking adventure in Japan. Over the next month I will be walking two sections of two different pilgrimage walks – Shikoku 88 and the Kumano Kodo. I am really looking forward to this period of reflection and renewal in a place I have long wanted to re-visit; a place towards which I have always felt a strong pull. It will be a time of honouring the past as well as orienting towards what is yet to come for me. It seems fitting that while I’ll be walking it will be autumn here at home, a time of letting go and making space for the new; while in Japan it will be spring, a time of new birth, growth, and a time to refresh mind and body.
I think I have mentioned my dream of running mindful hiking adventures in Japan one day. This trip may just be sowing the seeds… I will be taking a break from technology while I’m away, however, I will post photos on social media from time to time if you’d like to see what I’m up to.
I look forward to reporting on my adventures when I’m back in May.
