Thoughts on my camping trip

I had a long weekend and decided i would take myself camping in the Lake District.

I had the most beautiful time and just though i would share my feelings of the trip with some like minded folk and see if you guys can relate to my feelings and have any solution to the unrest i feel, so here goes:

I felt so peaceful camping. the hills and mountains enclosed the campsite and it made me feel in complete perspective against the vastness of nature. I hiked up into the hills all day and during this short time, walking, camping, being in nature so peacefully and in such solitude I realised that not once did I check the time, wish the hours would go slightly faster. i wasn't waiting for something else to happen rather than living that moment. I didn't check my phone, i didn't think or worry about anything. I was just there, in the moment, taking it all in. and when i arrived home, i felt a real pain inside my soul. Those three days were how life should be lived, not wishing the time away so you can go home from work or get to bed or do something else other than what you are. to just be. to enjoy and to be content. that's what it's all about. that's how i want my days to be. free and full of joy. I don't want to wish the days anyway anymore. I don't want to count them away till the weekend. I want to cherish the moment, feeling alive and peaceful every day. But how do you do that, without the mountains and the lakes and the wildlife? I don't think it's possible. and tonight i will go to work and count the hours till it's time leave.


does anyone else feel this void when you have to get back to the routine of normal life?

 

Hi OD, stopped lurking just to respond to your thread.

Counting away the hours is a curse and a waste of our time. I know from bitter experience that we have to enjoy where we are and what we are doing.

I try to achieve that as much as possible in what's left of my life but not always easy.

I know that with working and other commitments it feels next to impossible a lot of the time and so you have to grasp the time you do get and enjoy it to the full.

Did you go alone or did you have company?

 

its very hard to enjoy what you are doing, if its not what you want. its very hard to look at each day as a blessing when its the same as yesterday. i realise what your saying and your position and i would love to treat every day as a gift but every days just a slight variation on the last for the most part, its hard to get excited about it.

and whos to says we have to settle for these small nuggets of happiness. if we can pin point what makes us feel good and happy shouldnt we go about achieving it? rather than just accepting that most of the time we must be miserable/apathatic/unattatched or whatever else and only be happy for a few weeks every year. surely thats just as much of a waste of life as anything else?

 

i understand where you're coming from. i don't feel that void but i do feel like i'm in another world and almost a different person, in a way, when i come back to society.

the feeling of peace and just "being" that you had during camping is what i enjoy every day through meditation. do you take time to just be every day? if you think you don't have the time then that's a problem! even if you start by taking 5 minutes here and there throughout your day instead of a long, dedicated sessions, it's a good start. you can have peace in any moment.
eace:

 

opel diamond - you have summed up well how I feel. The past couple weekends I have been out camping with my family. My youngest is now 2.5 so we thought we could make an honest go of camping... it was amazing. We spent our day deciding when to take hikes, go fishing, or go to the children's park.

I agree and say this all of the time.

I know what makes me happy... it's not living in society as we are expected to. It's hard to break the cycle, and I find it especially hard now that we have children. That's what I find personally though. My hubby does not agree with me fully... although I think I'm making headway. Life could be a lot simpler.

 

i just got back from camping in colorado for 3 weeks.

i feel the same way.

 

I might take some shit for saying this, but I like the routine of having week after shitty week in town, working or going to class, and then finally saying 'fuck this' and bailing for the nearby creek for some camping, fishing, hiking, and soaking in the ice cold water.

The longer I'm in town, running in the rat race, the more I appreciate nature when I get to it. I think if I got away any more than I did, I would take the creek for granted, you know?

 

I cant' imagine you taking shit. That is how you enjoy your visits to the woods. No one could ever tell you how you need to maximize your enjoyment of the woods. I think it's very healthy that you feel that way. I guess some of us feel a different calling.

 

:cheers2:

 

I understand your point of view, SoCalKing. Everyone's different though. Before I had a baby, when I lived in the tent, everyday was amazingly beautiful, but it didn't make it any less so because I did it every day-did that make sense? I lived in the lake District for about 1 year. It's one of my favourite places in Britain (one of the reasons I'm looking forward to Solfest so much!)
If I could, I would still be living that way. Cos' of the baby though, I'm saving for a van instead (She loves camping, but dont think the winter would be good for her)











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