People You Meet Along the Way: Next Stop - Nepal: Destination Unknown....

You're off to great places,
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting, 
So... get on your way..!
-Dr. Seuss, Oh the Places You'll Go

A few final thoughts as I drag two heavy bags out the door for a long journey to Nepal. I’m feeling a wide range of emotions from apprehension and nervousness, to that insatiable adrenaline rush you get when you stand on the cusp of the unknown and prepare to leap. 

Preparing to leap. The biggest challenge with this expedition - like so many decisions in life (e.g. changing roles at work, moving to countries, moving homes, starting and ending relationships), has been making the decision to ‘go for it’ – to upset the controlled routine of a comfortable home, a steady job doing work I enjoy, a living a simple life at a manageable pace…  So why change? Why upset the proverbial ‘apple cart’? when a life of predictability and comfort is so much easier...

I wish that I had the answer but I don’t. When my head questions the ‘why’, my heart pulls me forward and I’ve never regretted succumbing to the pull. 

Succumbing to the pull hasn’t always been easy or straightforward but it’s always brought me contentment and ultimately happiness as a result – although not always in ways that I’d anticipated. But this is the thrill of life, and in living beyond our comfort zones… life tests and rewards in many different ways, each test and reward bringing us closer to our true selves. 

Life truly is a ‘journey’. The person I am today – right here, right now – is the patchwork of decisions and choices that I’ve made along the way. Through these decisions and choices I’ve discovered freedom and joy in movement, in meeting new people, in finding comfort in discomfort. I’ve fed a thirst for learning – learning from others, from my environment, and in some cases, learning from myself. I’ve learned not to judge myself too harshly when things don’t go as expected. I’ve learned that taking time out to ‘sit still’, and just ‘be’ is perhaps the easiest way to move in the ebb and flow of life. 

To just “be”. I think this is why I keep coming back to Nepal. My first visit was 20 years ago on a trek of the Annapurna Circuit. From that first visit and every visit since, I’ve been gently reminded to ‘just be’. This happens the second you step off the plane, go through the character-building initiation of Immigration and Passport Control, and experience the sheer chaos of baggage reclaim. Eventually you’re spat out the other end of the process and you’re picked up and whisked away to your guest house wiping the sweat off your brow.  Letting go is the theme – the more you try to make sense of the chaos the more lost and frustrated you become. Trust the natural flow. Go with the flow… and have no expectations. It comes more easily now both in Nepal and closer to home.

This first journey also unlocked a passion for movement, for listening, and learning. I experienced firsthand the power of mother nature and the selfless kindness of strangers. It prompted a continuous journey of reflection on what I could give back to the world in some small way. These themes have continued to be an integral part of my life and form the basis for the way that I have chosen to live. I am grateful for all those who keep me true to this and are there 'in my basecamp'.

This isn’t to say that I can’t find a sense of fulfillment in other places – there are days where a margarita on a beach on a Caribbean island would be a preferable option. But for whatever reason – perhaps it is the sheer ‘in your face’ contrast – the beauty, the chaos, the noise, the silence, the nature, the filth, that the lessons just seem more ‘gentle’ here through their extremes.

Stepping out of a comfort zone, following through on a ‘calling’ and sense of purpose – this is often more daunting than the mountains we find ourselves on. But the fulfillment is in the journey – the lessons learned and the people we meet along the way, and the place that we leave in the world as a result. 

“Give me a rich and satisfying life means one full of contrast. Give me sleep ins and soft rains, coffee shops and conversation but also adrenaline and adventure and drunken bellows to the stars. I am determined to embrace this extraordinary life for all it has to offer.” – Beau Taplin

-------------

Where one journey ends, another begins…

Some people have asked what I’ll be doing over the next 7 weeks…

I’ll spend the first few days in Kathmandu, slowly integrating into the pace that is Nepal at The Terrace, my ‘home away from home’. Gear organization, grocery shopping, catching up with friends and enjoying a pizza or two will be high on the priority list. 

The runway at Kathmandu airport is under construction so rather than fly to Lukla, our entry-point into the Himalayas, we head overland to the tiny airport of Ramchap. There’s never a dull moment in Nepal especially when it comes to bureaucracy and logistics so I have no doubt there will be a few surprises waiting for us there.

Over the course of the next 3 weeks my climbing partner Mal and I will make our way up into the Khumbu and acclimatize before attempting to climb a 6100m mountain called Kyajo Ri, in alpine style and via the Mende route.

Following the climb, I’ll walk across to the small mountain village of Phortse where I'll help put the finishing touches on the Khumbu Climbing Centre (KCC) in preparation for its Grand Opening in early June.

Next stop - Nepal!


“So be sure when you step, Step with care and great tact. And remember that life's A Great Balancing Act. And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and ¾ percent guaranteed) Kid, you'll move mountains.” 
- Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You'll Go!