An Afternoon Stroll

84 days on from starting this thing; more than 1% of my entire life has now passed since that beautiful evening in Bath. And it might seem strange to me now, but there was actually a time, right before those first days, when I was beginning to dread taking on this challenge. I suppose I was feeling the pressure; what if I never even made it out of England? What if my complete lack of plan caught up with me? What if I made myself look like an utter idiot for telling people I was planning on walking to Istanbul of all places? I couldn't even admit that it was was my ambition until landing on French soil. I know there's still one hell of a long way to go, and boy, its only going to get harder from here, but I think my point is that there's real truth in those first steps being the hardest. The truth is that you don't always have to have it figured out, you don't even really have to believe in yourself. In fact, I'd probably say that I still don't; I don't think I'll ever believe I can reach Asian Istanbul until looking back from the other side of the Bosphorus, and that's if I ever even make it there (to be honest I don't even know how I've even made it here!). But regardless of whether I do or not, I'm so glad I chose to plant those first few footprints from Bath. The way appears as you start to walk it, and to set aside the fears and learn not to worry has taken me into places and situations I thought never possible. In my opinion, there's also something very special about being able to travel on foot; to see every place between two places, to travel in distance and in time in equal measure, to be able to prove yourself everyday: they are all incredible things. Although I've already begun to miss the freedom, the simplicity and adventure of the walk over the past week or so of this little break, it has also allowed me some time to reflect. And, you know, I think I used to think that my adventure was special, and that it meant something more for the distance I set out to walk. But it's funny. The further I hike, the less I think it's got anything to do with the distance at all. Along the way, I've come to realise that true meaning comes from the experiences, both good and bad, and from connecting with the land and its people. My journey *is* special, but because all of our journeys are, and what's special about them is their uniqueness. Each of our stories all have their own timescales, so don't ever compare, or look onto others' with jealousy. Just keep moving on your own, keep being true to yourself, and most of all, keep following them dreams :)Read more