A desire to wander

What I learned from climbing the Breithorn

An emotion I have been dancing with lately is adventurousness, a desire to wander and seek, a feeling of being called to give up what’s familiar to experience something new.

When I think about the last time I felt truly adventurous, I am viscerally transported back to Zermatt, Switzerland, where I stood on top of a mountain peak, the snowy edge only feet from where I was planted. I surveyed the range in every direction. I felt empowered, bold, calm and brave.

I hadn’t planned on mountain climbing when I went to visit my aunt and uncle. I knew it was something they did every year, but I figured I would hike and be content. When they suggested I climb the Breithorn, I felt a giddy sensation I couldn’t quite decipher between excitement and fear.

Early in the morning, before the sun rose, I pulled on my snow pants and hiking boots, and packed my small backpack with water, extra gloves, a hat, sunscreen and a snack bar. I met a German couple I would be climbing with and our guide at the bottom of the chair lift and rode to the top. 

Our guide, a 75-year old mountain rescuer from Zermatt, roped us together and pulled out his ice ax to prepare for the traverse across the glacier to the base of the mountain. The snow was pure white, the sun glistening off the banks. We walked in a zigzag following the path that another guide had carved that morning to ensure we avoided crevices and stayed on solid ground.

I can see my face now, I almost want to cry, the joy that filled me, the peace and awe I felt in this beautiful and serene space. How connected I felt to myself and nature. 

It’s something I am not quite sure how to put into words. A feeling of moving toward something and somewhere you’ve never been, while feeling an intimate connection and resonance with that same place. On top of the mountain, I had a fleeting experience of connection to something larger than myself and a sense of well-being that accompanies that total present-moment awareness.¹

I noticed a sensation of smallness, sensed the tiny space I take up in the vast world we live in. I noticed how big my problems feel when I am stuck in my small home and the lines of the life I have created for myself. How much this shifts, and how much the pressure and anxiety dissipate when I am outside in nature and see how small I am in the grand scheme of things and the world.

Reflecting on this experience, I wonder how I can embrace adventurousness now to lead a richer life. This isn’t necessarily about climbing another mountain, but maybe doing or seeing things in a new way that invites the same curiosity and boldness. Rediscovering a childlike wonder, where I am fully immersed in what’s in front of me. Stretching outside of my comfort zone in ways that require courage and bravery and experimenting with how I live and work, despite fear and uncertainty.

I’d love to know your own experiences with seeking adventure in work or life and any ways you’ve invited in bravery and courage in your work, business or private life over the past couple of months.

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Oriana

1. Present-moment awareness is a practice of focusing on what’s here in this moment, including paying close attention to embodied senses.