Returning to the trails

Finding happiness outdoors

Notes on happiness
issue #07

I recently came across Izzy | The Sunday Reads post about hiking and what it is teaching her about being present, and it stuck with me. Hiking the trails around the mountains of Bergen has always been part of my life. However, hiking itself became much more important to me when I was burned out a few years ago. I was out of commission for almost ten months — and I have never spent as much time outdoors as I did during those months. I spent my days going on long hikes or running on trails around the mountains of my hometown.

The one thing I have missed more than anything after moving to a new city has been the proximity to nature. To the mountains. To getting out and up there. Getting perspective. Finding a place to breathe.

And to be fair, it’s not like nature is far away from where I am now — but it takes more effort than I’m used to to actually get out there. I used to live right by my favourite trail, one step and I was there. Here, I have to take the tube, a bus, or the tram to get somewhere near a trail. Not too far, not too complicated, but it became an extra step I didn’t prioritise taking.

Looking back, I’ve come to realise I haven’t been on a hike since last spring, when I first moved here. And the last time I took a proper run outdoors? Ouf, that was in September last year.

And it hit me.
No wonder I haven’t really felt that much happiness either.

I have been running. But because of the snow and ice, I’ve been running indoors on a treadmill. I’ve gone on a few walks, but besides the one outdoor day I had the other week with a friend, I haven’t really been in nature for ages.

The lack of nature.
Of being outdoors.
It has affected me more than I realised.

Bergen trails

There is truly nothing like the big outdoors. Nothing quite beats the feeling of running outside, when the temperature is just right, when everything feels aligned, when the sound of your shoes hits the ground in a steady rhythm.

That little high you get.

I can start a run carrying something heavy, and then something shifts, and I will find myself smiling and happy. I love running. I love how it helps me move through the emotions I’m carrying. Move through my thoughts. Sort out my mind. Or sometimes just run in silence, following the rhythm.

Running outdoors becomes a journey of its own. Through changing landscapes, shifting light, open space. And somewhere along the way, I change too. By the time I’ve reached my finish line, I’m not quite the same person who started out. Sure, my reality hasn’t changed. My life is still the same. The problems and challenges I had before the run are not necessarily gone.

But something in me has changed.
I do my best thinking on runs.

I can start out with a single thought, something heavy on my mind. And over the course of a run, I will have discovered something new. My brain untangles itself on runs. I am more present on my outdoor runs and hikes. I am here. Now. And nowhere else.

This past week, I had not one, but two runs outdoors. And I can honestly say I haven’t felt this good in a long while. As I sit here reminiscing about those two runs, I can’t help but feel excited for my next one tomorrow.

Nature, no matter how I choose to enjoy it, seems to bring me back to myself.

Until next time,
happy reading! ✨