If Hikers Ruled the World…

Would the world be a better place if everyone spent some time hiking? I submit that it would. I think everyone would gain some essential long lost social skills to start off with. My “If Hikers ruled the World…” series will be a tribute to what people learn from hiking and why the world would be a better place for learning these lessons. We will start off with my top 3:

1. Reclaim the long lost art of acknowledging the presence of other human beings. It always seems like hikers are nicer people. I don’t think that hikers are automatically better people, but they do have something refreshing going for them. Hikers will say hello when you encounter them on the trail. Walking by people in a city, they won’t smile and say hello. They won’t even look at you. I feel like we are socially taught that if you don’t know a person you should pretend they don’t exist. Pass a hiker on a trail and my guess is that the hiker will smile and in some way acknowledge that you are a human being. On the trail it seems natural (after all, it may have been a while since you have seen another person). It is a simple but beautiful thing.

2. Develop a conscious knowledge of something bigger than yourself. We can get trapped in ourselves too often. This isn’t just a part of our culture, I think it’s a part of our conditions as humans, but it’s exemplified by our culture’s emphasis on individualism. When you stand on a mountain or sleep under the stars you realize your true size. It opens your eyes to the bigness of the world and potentially the bigness of something bigger than the world. If you think you are the center of the universe, you’ll suffocate in your own Seran-Wrap kingdom.

3. Taking a step back from our Fast Paced Tech-Centered Society. Notice how I didn’t say, “Seeing technology as Evil” or “Run away from all media influences”. Hiking doesn’t mean hating technology, but it does mean taking a step back and enjoying something different. This happens to different degrees for everyone. My brother tweets from the top of mountains via cell phone. I take more of a purist (cell phone off) mentality. To each his own, but the point is that hiking gives you an opportunity to take a few breaths of fresh air away from the hyper-commercialism, media bombardment, fast food, and the technology we "can't live without".