Control

I didn't post yesterday, mostly because I'm a big slacker. I kept thinking about it and then putting it off, and then it just didn't happen. It's okay to let things go once in a while as long as it doesn't become a habit.

This morning I'm thinking about the adversity of nature. I'm reading a great book on lightweight hiking by Ray Jardine, and he talks about our obsessive need to control our environment. We go to dinner and expect service will be good, food will be hot, etc. In our day to day lives, a lot of what we do is to keep or gain control over our environment. We mow our lawn, we clean the house, we turn on the air conditioner when it's hot, and the heat when it's cold.

Nature could give a shit about our need for control. Next summer, on the trail, I will have very little control over my environment. If it rains, I'm going to get wet and have to deal with it. If it's hot, I'm going to sweat. There won't be a house to go back to at the end of the day. One of the biggest lessons I'm going to have to learn is to roll with it. The control I will need to assert is my emotion, and my reaction to the world around me. I expect it will be a hard lesson, but one worth learning.