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[at-l] RE: Why hike the trail

I really like the way you described what you were looking for and what you 
found.  Thank you for sharing.

Gweneeth (MINC)
 ----------
Freeman said:
>Belated answer to the question-
                                            I hiked the trail quite simply 
to
change.  I went out to find an inner connection that I found it hard to hold
onto in daily life.  I went out to cultivate that connection and have no
agenda to keep me from listening to its leading everyday, including an 
agenda
of whether or not I finished the trail.
          I found the trail to be a phenomenal place to explore and 
cultivate
this.  What it did for me was eliminate all the distractions (or almost 
all).
 All the little things in life I could get absorbed in or engaged in to
distract me from inner connection.  Out there for a prolonged period my life
was reduced to the basics - eat, walk, sleep.  Most immediately I found that
all the patterns I was running in my life were there in full blown living
color.  It's definitely not a place to get away from who we are.  I got to
examine all that chattering crap in my head on a continual basis.  There was
no where to run!  No TV, no job, no relationship, no obligations.  Just me.
 Me and my stuff.  The wondrous and interesting thing about the whole deal
was as I was "working" so hard on all the things I wanted to change day in
and day out (and not getting very far) somewhere underneath all that was
growing a peace and a stability.  It just kind of 'appeared' after about 3-4
months.  As I was despairing that I really hadn't got very far with my
initial intention of examining and 'fixing' a lot of things inside, I all of
a sudden realized that I'd got what I came for.  It had snuck up on me while
I was busy looking for it!  It was different than what I thought it'd be, 
but
better.  This is probably really rambling, but I hope the gist gets through.

       Anyway, that's why I went.  And often why I return.

FreeMan

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