Every time I drive west and I see the mountains I feel a release of stress and a burst of joy. I know that I can escape my problems for a few hours and turn off my phone and just be. Work has been stressful lately. If I'm honest, most of the time I feel an undercurrent of stress in this profession. I feel pressure from having to do so many different things, most of which come with deadlines. I also feel an underlying pressure to always be on my toes and have the answer. Sometimes I don't have the answer right away, and that stresses me out. Sometimes I feel like what I'm doing doesn't matter. And sometimes I just straight up run out of patience. It can be hard to focus on the good after you have a tough day or week.
And so I go to the mountains every chance I get to refresh and escape. Hiking is also full of metaphors for life. You have to work hard for a great view. You can't give up. Even if your steps are small or you stumble, you have to keep going to reach the summit. You might be scared sometimes or unsure of how you're going to make it, but with support from the people you are with and with inner strength you can make it all the way. So I keep hiking on.
