Finding your stick.
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” — — Henry David Thoreau
I have been chased by dogs, ran into snakes, poked few toads and had a tug of war with a turtle. The scariest of them all was the hissing turtle. Yeah, you can laugh while you can. But in my walk today I got inspired to write about my sticks.
Before we go into the woods, the only rule is to find your sticks. I think I mentioned why in the above lines. Trust me, when you find your self in those situations and you will. Your stick will be your Sword.
The stick must be with a firm grip and be comfortable to you. A decent height up to your chest. It must be strong. Put your stick on the ground and hit on the sides with your boots. If it breaks, find another one. And it must be coated with gold and a preferrable a staff like Gandalf.
Who am I kidding with? I never found my perfect stick in the first go. But I found something decent and let’s start our walk. So initially, find something you can work with. You will find better ones along with our walk.
Now the walk begins. You can do anything. Sing a song, run, talk about life, poke something, drag your stick, anything. The intention is to look at the vastness of the forest. You look above, sides, down.
This is a euphoric moment because this is called Happiness.
But nobody said it’s gonna last forever. And you still have your “Descent” stick with you. Keep looking for one that fits you.
Interestingly not everybody has a similar preference with their stick. Some of my heavier friends like solid and heavy sticks. Some like light and nimble. Your choice of the stick can tell a lot about you.
The journey is to keep finding the stick that suits you. You can switch it anytime. You are not entitled to stick with one stick. Get it? Stick with one stick? Oh whateves.
If you ever get attacked by a dog, you have your sword with you. Now kill that beast.
But once you’ve done everything, and you reach your exit. What do you do with your stick? Wait what if you find a better stick? The same thing we did in our journey, we switch.
Remember at the end of the trail leave your perfect stick behind. Because your End might be someone’s else's beginning. Wouldn’t you give them a hand?
I love going into the woods. They make you feel fresh, energized and a lot more inspired. So please if not every morning, at least visit these wonderful trees every now and then.
Question: But what is this stick in our life?
Answer: Perspective.
We never start our journey with a perfect perspective (stick). We find something decent and we move forward. We bump every now and then. Get attacked by dogs. If you and your stick are strong like me 😜, you fight with the dogs. But if you and your stick are not strong enough, the stick breaks and you get a bite.
Similar in this span of your life, You will update your perspective frequently. If you ever find a better one, don’t forget to switch. Even at the end of your life, you find a better one, you switch. Then finally, leave your stick in journals, books or videos.
You end your journey, but someone else gets to start theirs.
