Even so, we will still be unable to immerse ourselves in silence, thus seeing, hearing and feeling the unrealistic "illusion" of things.
Because things often have traps that consume a person's enthusiasm, and these traps are mainly divided into three types:
The first is the frustration that people give up because of the external environment.
The second is anxiety caused by internal emotions and cognitive factors.
The third is timidity caused by self-fear.
When I first started hiking, I was most worried about sudden setbacks. I remember something that made me very depressed on the way from Hutiaoxia Town to Shangri-La.
I didn't follow the navigation on the national highway, but took another unpaved expressway. When I first entered Xili Expressway, I asked the local people and learned that it was 23 kilometers to walk along Xili Expressway to the next town, and no village could rest along the way.
When I walked nearly 30 kilometers on the expressway before I reached the fork in the road in expressway, I felt uneasy, and it was useless to navigate on this unfinished expressway.
It was already dark around 7 o'clock at this time. Although I am in a hurry, I still have to bite the bullet and go forward.
At about 8: 30, I went to Xiaozhongdian Town. When I wanted to stay, I found that both hotels in the town were full. When I wanted to live, I found that the town was full of government courtyards, and the shops nearby were not allowed to live.
I stopped in the cold wind and tried to go directly to Shangri-La, 30 kilometers away. After stopping for half an hour, I only saw the vehicles whizzing by, and my heart was completely discouraged.
"Why do so many accidents collide?"
"Why is today's luck so bad?" "What bad luck!"
Even with comprehensive planning and careful preparation, there will still be accidents, and there may be a series of accidents. You need to pay attention to your morale and mood at this time.
Be sure to calm down. If you just imagine what unrealistic good luck will appear, you may fall into deeper despair every time you are disappointed. This is a very bad experience.
We need a different perspective to observe the problem: "Even a failed experience does not mean a real failure. The real purpose is to gain new experience and information by trying different things".
I have encountered many cognitive and emotional traps, most of which come from the stubbornness of inherent values and cannot measure things from a new perspective. Moreover, rigid values prevent me from forming new ideas.
An interesting story about Indians catching monkeys: the hunter tied the hollowed-out coconut to a piece of wood with a rope and put some rice grains in the coconut, which could be touched through a small hole.
Because the hole is very small, the monkey can only put his hand in it, but when he has rice in his hand, it is difficult to pull it out, so catching the monkey depends on its rigid thinking.
The monkey should know the fact that he is free when he lets go, but how can he know this fact instead of thinking that rice is more important than freedom?
It just needs to slow down and think that freedom is more important than the rice beside the coconut.
The same is true for us, just deliberately slow down our thoughts and emotions, and then quietly think about and examine whether what we used to think is still important.
Only by abandoning old ideas can we find new clues and ideas.
At first, I insisted on walking and didn't want to get to my destination by car. Although many people stopped to communicate with me and wanted to give me a ride, I politely refused.
From Xiangyun County to Dali Prefecture, I was impressed. The map shows that it is nearly 60 kilometers, but I am full of confidence in my physical quality and perseverance and walk without fear.
I don't know how navigation took me to a country road with a steep slope. Depart at 7: 30 in the morning, start walking on the steep slope winding upward at 9: 00, continue climbing for 4.5 hours, and then continue winding downhill for 5 hours. That should be the most difficult part of my hiking.
I didn't walk 45 kilometers until 6: 30 in the afternoon, knowing that I couldn't get to my next destination before dark anyway.
I sat quietly on the grass beside the road, thinking about my journey. I didn't care about the surrounding environment at all, and I lost the opportunity to enjoy the bright sunshine on the treetops and listen to the birds and streams.
Even if I fall, I don't rest, but move on. All I can think about is getting to the next destination quickly. Do I just walk for walking?
The thinking at that time gave me a new feeling about hiking: "What kind of mentality will give hiking a completely different meaning, thus producing a qualitative feeling."
I set a new goal for hiking, and then I relaxed, walked as far as possible, felt all the beauty around me, and asked each other for help as long as there were passing cars, so that I could reach my next destination quickly.
When I changed my mind and wanted to go hiking, all the difficulties in front of me and my inner entanglements collapsed instantly.
If I stick to my original point of view, I can't find a better answer or solve a real problem, even if it is right in front of my eyes.
Both realistic frustration and emotional cognitive impairment will cause inner fear and pain.
When I am in fear, my heart is anxious and confused. No matter how well I know the cause of fear, I will eventually be afraid.
It's a long walk from Daocheng Aden to Lugu Lake, because the local altitude is relatively high, so the behavior is relatively slow.
After a day's hiking, it's getting dark. There was no pedestrian along the road, all the vehicles were speeding in the opposite direction, while I was staring at a corner of the sun on the mountain road in the middle of nowhere.
At this time, I feel a little anxious and afraid. What am I afraid of?
Fears that can be realized:
"I'm afraid of the dark."
"I'm afraid to walk alone in the dark."
"I'm afraid of loneliness"
"I'm afraid of the sudden danger when a person walks."
"I'm afraid of death"
"I am afraid of death anxiety after hunger and exhaustion."
"I'm afraid of the cold"
"I am afraid of the cold after being homeless" and so on.
There is both fear of the past and fear of the future. Fear of the past is an experience that has happened, and fear of the future is a possible difficulty.
There may be some fears that I can't describe and observe, and they are all based on the past fear experience.
At this point, I understand: "Thought is the source of fear and pain."
what am I supposed to do？ I can't stop thinking and fantasizing in my mind.
At that time, I ate a candy in a hurry to replenish my strength and continue to accelerate the pace of walking.
I said to myself, "I'm afraid of what may happen next, but I'll keep going." Stopping is the beginning of fear verification. "
I think continuous action is the best way to relieve anxiety and fear. No one can overcome fear. If you can't ignore it, you can only try to get along with it in your own way.
People can't help thinking, and they can't help thinking. Naturally, they can't banish disturbing fears from their minds.
But people can examine, explore and question themselves, so that their hearts become clear: "It is no longer bound, reversed or distorted by fear."
About the author: Can Liang, meditation teacher, psychological counselor and lifelong learning practitioner.