Recently, I’ve been watching and listening to several podcasts about Buddhist monk life, learning how to establish routines, examine personal patterns, be grateful on a daily basis, choose a positive mindset, and so forth. I’m not seeking enlightenment or joining a monastery anytime soon; I just welcome the switch away from mainstream media’s barrage of negativity. The epiphany I had recently while listening to these shows was how similar hiking is to monastic life: simple, structured, quiet. For me, hiking is zen. It’s a walking meditation that calms the monkey-mind and draws me into the present moment.

Routine = Zen

Hike. Eat. Sleep. Repeat. It doesn’t get any simpler. Having planned ahead of time, there are few decisions to make while on the trail. I wake up already knowing what I’m wearing that day, what I’m going to eat, where I’m headed, and how I’m going to get there. When I step into the woods, my mind can relax, downshift into observation mode, and just appreciate the simplicity.

Natural Beauty = Zen

There is no better artist than Mother Nature and she delivers a multi-sensory performance that changes with every passing hour, season, climate zone, and altitude shift — morphing colors, sounds, lighting, textures and smells. The canvas scales with just a simple shift of attention, from a micro-world of flora and tiny fauna in a rock crevasse to grand vistas atop mountain peaks. It’s impossible to feel alone when nature teems with such vibrant diversity and life. Nature is always fresh, creative, and adaptive. Change is the only constant and it’s what “being alive” means. Hiking helps me appreciate change in a tangible way.

Exercise = Zen

My desk job often entails long hours of sitting or standing in one place, juggling decision-making, deadlines, office politics, and other stressors. By Friday, I need to counter-act all that with a little heart-pumping movement and a healthy flow of endorphins. You can’t get a better workout than hiking, especially with a 20 pound pack and some hills (or a via ferrata in the Alps!). Weave in a thorough stretching session a couple of times a day and you’ve covered the bases: cardio, strength training, mobility, and flexibility…. no treadmills, lululemon logos, or wall-to-floor mirrors required.

Slow Pace = Zen

The word for “slow pace” in Swahili is “pole pole”. Huffing and puffing up a long, steep incline can be brutal if you are only focused on getting to the top. The greatest effort is not concerned with the result; rather, the joy is in the experience itself. Hiking reminds me to SLOW DOWN. Put one foot in front of the other and eventually the hill will crest the summit. Along the path, appreciate the changing scenery and my own brute strength! Slowly, slowly — I can accomplish great things.

Gratitude and Humility = Zen

Walking miles through a green tunnel or across a vast, treeless scree slope allows the mind to wander. I tend to dwell on thankfulness: basic needs met, family and friends, good health and an able body, freedom (many kinds), confidence in myself, and so on. That gratitude is accompanied by humility — the recognition that I am flawed, mortal, and undeserving of the enormous gifts in my life. Hiking provides me the mental space to FEEL gratitude and awe.