A year ago today I drove into LA with all my belongings packed in my truck. What better way to celebrate a year in this city than to leave it for the weekend and remember what really matters in life.
This is where I spent this weekend. For me there is nothing like backpacking to really bring you back to the basics. When you're out in the middle of nowhere with nothing but freeze-dried food, your own two legs and lots of water, you quickly remember what really matters in life.
At the end of the day your thankful for the many deep breaths, the amazing beauty of your surroundings, and the time to clear your mind.
Before moving to LA, backpacking was not only an escape from the over indulgent lifestyle but also a good excuse to spend intense quality time with friends. With no TV, phones or other commitments you really get to connect with the people you're hiking with. Some of my most treasured memories come from weekend backpacking trips and the adventures that come with them.
In LA however, my friends are few and far between. Now backpacking is still an escape from the everyday, but it's also an excuse to concentrate on myself. It's now real alone time, where all other distractions have fallen away and it's just me and my thoughts.
This weekend was a time to reconnect with myself, to remember where I've been and where I may be headed. Although I felt alone and even farther away from home than most days, I was thankful for the solitude and for the chance to escape and for the chance to realize just how much I love sharing experiences like these with people I love.
Backpacking may be a great way to reconnect with yourself, but I'm not sure that's what I like about it. I was feeling lonely and isolated much of the time, I was missing interaction; the chance to fart in the tent and know you'll get a response, the chance to share the reward of peaking a mountain, the chance to make your friend eat the rest of your dinner and the chance to discuss the meaning of life or your best drinking story.
And although this is just one weekend of many I've spent mostly alone since I moved here, it's a prime example of the most important thing I've learned upon entering the "real" world; life is meant to be shared.
And I'm thankful for this lesson. It makes each day spent with friends, or strangers, a little sweeter. It makes random experiences shared with another person all that more meaningful, and above all it makes me aware of my interactions with others-my ability to share myself and to liven someone else's days.
For this, I say Grace.
Labels: backpacking, friends, LA
