He headed off on the Appalachian Trail. A backpack behind him……5 months of daily hiking ahead of him. It wasn’t necessarily the challenge of the hike that brought him here. It was the notion of finding himself and walking out of the trail knowing that he would be back to his true self.
Jake had been caught up living a life that wasn’t really his. A life of endless dinner meetings, days of convincing doctors that his Pharmaceutical products were the best on the market, and missing the gym again because he was just too darn tired. He never really believed in modern medicine and all the nasty side effects today’s drugs carried with them. But it was a good job, and if he had to jeopardize his conscience and beliefs to make a sale…..why not?
Jake never even realized that he was living someone else’s life. He wasn’t even aware that his true self had been lost about 3 years ago. But he knew now that he was going to get it back.
What does it really mean to find yourself? Do we really ever loose ourselves? My Wife and I were discussing this a few days ago and she admitted she really didn’t know what finding yourself was all about. We hear all the time about people needing to go find themselves, and it seems so strange to us. When I was younger, I felt the same way. I felt like I needed a way to find myself….even though I had no idea how it was going to happen……or even know when it did happen.
My viewpoint now is that it has something to do with the above scenario. Its about re-becoming your true self. The cultures, customs, peer pressures, job duties, and processes we are faced with all have an effect on the way we live our lives. Being able to find yourself in all this is tremendous……going through this and never losing yourself is Priceless.
Whether it is by meditation, reflection, a major occurrence in your life, or 5 months of hiking solitude……..its nice to have a way to reconnect to the person you really are. Oh, and I’m pretty sure time on the bike each week will help keep you connected as well. It’s good to be you.