What activities do you lose yourself in?

I always thought Groundhog Day was a pretty funny movie, until I actually considered the reality of it. Every day is another repeat… wash, rinse, spin over and over and over and over. For the characters in the original movie, obsession with getting a relationship right was not a bad goal, and there was character growth in the midst of lots of funny lines, and ridiculous situations. For all of us in 2025, the news cycle is kinda similar, without any funny lines, but scary real world stuff throughout, and on repeat every day. I feel like we could name our new version Tariff Day or RIF Day. Regardless, the toll this cycle takes on one’s mental health is palpable. I feel it but I don’t want to. I’m frustrated by it, but I don’t want to be. How do you break out of this cycle?

Luckily, it is spring, and the weather is improving. Hiking season basically starts this month and this I can lose myself in. I’m looking at my hiking books and starting to plot. It always helps me to review what I’ve done in the past: maybe a little montage of previous hikes would be inspiring…

So there’s a picture from every hike I went on in the last 12 months and I’m reminded that the world is a beautiful place despite the pain that people bring into it. Taking a moment and being in nature grounds my soul and is so helpful… I’m looking forward to experiencing more of nature in the next year. I will keep adding posts to hopefully share some of the fun things I get to see.

Losing myself in hiking is not a bad way to cope…