Malcolm Buckley's Blog - Posts Tagged "walking"

Stepping out of the personal and professional demands of everyday life into a multi-day walk of a long distance path brings about a major shift in thinking. Self perception and outlook of a place in the world becomes changed forever, and almost always for the betterment of self at every level of being.

It does not have to be The Camino de Santiago, across Northern Spain, the Appalachian Trail in the Eastern United States or California’s Pacific Crest Trail for a multi-day walk to provide a permanent shift of personal growth and a life changing transformation.

Stepping out of the normal pace of life, with it’s constant demands of our time and attention, exchanging our fast and noisy everyday environment for the simplicity of the natural world provides us with an immediate deeper connection to self and our surroundings.

Meeting like minded people on the trail, provides a level of community, although paradoxically the trail can provide solitude and ‘space’, if required. Unlike City society where people tend to look at passersby with contempt, even fear, especially these days, passing others on a trail creates immediate acceptance of each other.

Non judgmental becomes a natural state of being, with a code of ‘give not to get’.

There are three stages of personal growth regardless of a 2 week long distance walk or a 6 month multi-day hike.

1)

Over the initial few days the body undergoes physical adjustments in response to the demands made upon it, legs, knees and feet complain, pain and blisters may become walking companions over the next few days.

Muscles become stronger, more defined as the body developes a walking rhythm, aches and pains no longer require attention, blisters heal and grow a tough protective covering.

In essence the body relaxes, posture improves and physically walking 15 – 20 miles a day becomes virtually automatic.

2)

The second state of growth centers on the emotions and mindset. As the physical body relaxes, the mind and emotions begin an inner battle that must be overcome.

Supressed or even repressed feelings rise up from deep within, due to the fact that everyday distractions are now removed from awareness, creating a powerful cathartic experience.

Old, buried shadows and reflections of past ‘wrongdoings’, percived betrayals, personal battles of self-doubt or other elements of uncertainty surface, not to cause pain or added pressure to the walk, but to be cleared permanently, given the opportunity for time and focus to be placed on them in the now.

This stage of growth cannot be bypassed, for to do so would only create a much deeper state of suppression.

Acceptance and direct experience will bannish these ‘ghosts’ of mind and emotions for good.

3)

Having overcome the physcial pains of walking many miles each day, and clearing the mental and emotional blocks that sought to unbalance or immobilise in the second stage, a deeper, yet higher awareness comes into being.

With the mind, emotions and physical body in alignment a spiritual transformation is now possible.

Coinsiding with the end of a long distance walk, a level of self pride, gratitude for the experiences and sadness, due to the walk being over, rises into conscious awareness.

Generally perception of self and others becomes forever changed, it’s possible to not feel like the same person that began the walk, infact it would be rare not to have these new perceptions.

The challenge now is to step back into ‘real life’ without resistance yet with a higher awareness and understanding of self.