Day HIke

So, I took a day hike today. It was a spur of the moment decision, but those are the best afterall. I'm glad I did it; it was nice to get outside for a few hours, miles away from any sign of civilization. Once I got a few hours deep, I started wondering how I'd find my way back if the forest suddenly swallowed up the trail before and behind me. I decided that if I had enough food, that I wouldn't really care. The first part of the hike was the best, because I was just out enjoying myself; no real destination, no time-frame, none of that typically human stuff. The second part, though, I opted to follow a trail that led me to Lost Pond. Well, it was supposed to lead me to Lost Pond. A marker said it was only 0.6 miles ahead, and I know I walked at least that far. But I couldn't continue on the path because I'd been out for over two hours then, and I needed to get back so I could get to my Tai Chi class tonight. (It only took me about an hour to get back, but I took a different, more direct, path.) In any event, I think Lost Pond was lost. Maybe it didn't know where it was supposed to be. I dunno. But the lesson is that I enjoyed myself and my surroundings when I was meandering aimlessly. Once I developed a goal, someplace I wanted to be, and it fell into a time frame, the hike became less fun and started working its way towards a chore. There's a life lesson there too folks. It's okay to have goals, 'cause they give us a direction. But don't let the goal become so important that you miss out on everything along the way and forget to have fun. The experiences along the path are more important. Goals are important mostly because they give us a given path of experiences on which to walk.