Keep To Your Rhythm

I was hiking this weekend. I was walking up a hill and this guy was walking down the same trail. He stopped and stood aside the narrow trail to allow me to pass. I thanked him and hurried up the trail so as not to hold him up for too long. As I passed he said “It’s ok, just keep to your rhythm”. 

Sound advice. I knew immediately he must be a seasoned hiker.

In hiking it is never about the speed. It’s about the pace. Your own pace. It’s about finding your rhythm and keeping it.

Often I have seen new ‘hikers' speed up in earnest to keep up with friends. Or  to impress. Only to be out of breath, hands on knees and almost blue in the face after some distance. 

The natural tendency is to compare ourselves with our friends and try to keep up with the pack. It never works. It seldom ends well for you. Your friend’s pace is your friend’s pace. Not yours. 

A true hiker understands his own body and appreciates the terrain. He will find a comfortable pace in a given terrain. A good pace is when you are not out of breath as you walk. Your steps are in sync with your breathing. You are in the ‘flow.’

Each one of us are differently abled; with different speed and different stamina. The terrain differs too. Just like in life. 

We compare ourselves with our friends and are in a perpetual game of catch up. There is always someone who is better; has a better job, a better car or a bigger house. We want that too, only better. And we end up stressed, frustrated and out of breath.

Our trails in life differ. Each one of us, either knowingly or unknowingly has chosen our own path. Some are short, some long, some easy and some more challenging than others. There may be places where our trails overlap; and we become friends and families, to love and cherish. We enjoy that part of the journey together, in laughter or in sadness. And part ways when the time comes. Each one of us living, ever lived or will ever live, has a trail; each different from the other.

Our gifts, our temperament and the baggage that we carry along as we travel in life also differ. Each unique in its own way. No two journeys are ever alike. In fact the very purpose of our journey are different. 

Why then is the urge to ‘catch up’? Enjoy the trail, enjoy the life. After all, what is the purpose of it all, if there is no joy in it? There is no need to rush in reaching your ‘destination’ or your ‘goal’, or whatever you may call it, unless that is your thing. 

You will get there, without being out of breath. In life, as in hiking, it is never about the speed. Just keep to your rhythm.

Muru

Wattapad

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