I have been traveling alone for a while now, and even though I have met and talked with many travelers, nothing comes close to the deep connections I had with the people I met during the trek. Trekking brings out the rarest component in people, trust. Since you are in the same boat for the rest of the trek and you will be meeting them every day from a lodge to another lodge. Your trust in these people tends to grow as time goes. Since human contact is rare while trekking in the forest, people are more genuine and talk from their hearts. Everyone always said hi (Namaste in this case) to each other. People encourage each other along the way and exchange pleasantries even though we don’t know each other’s names.
The best thing you can give to people is your trust. Be open to the people you meet and your conversation will become more meaningful. As life flashed before our eyes, we often realized how little friends we had in our lives. Be more open to people, leave a positive mark in their lives and they will do the same to you.
“You have to get lost before you can be found.” ― Jeff Rasley
Trekking the Himalayas was a life-changing experience for me. Once you are among the mountains, you realized how mortal and vulnerable you are. You feel all the artificial problems you encountered in life worth nothing up here. You look at people and how they struggled with their problems differently. You tackle your problems with the might of the mountains.
At the end of the day, the feeling of accomplishing this ambitious goal is the most rewarding of all. You have finally pushed your limits over and over which in turn opens you up to more opportunities in life (Kilimanjaro, Everest, I’m looking at you). Everything is possible now.
Have you ever experienced a life-changing event such as this? What were the lessons you learned from it? Let us know in the comment below.