The countdown is complete….well almost. In three days, I will be on the airplane heading out on my long anticipated journey to Scotland. This past week has been very surreal and the whole thing still does not feel real. The number one question I have been asked is, of course, “Are you excited?”. I am sure you can surmise. my answer and I cannot tell you with enough description just out excited I actually am.
With all of the anticipation it begs the question – how important is expectation? And, what happens if your expectations of your experience are so high that your trip gets ruined because you just don’t experience what you thought you would?
The word surreal does come to mind a lot when one experiences something that they never thought they would. Or, when one experiences something they were anticipating but the build up of anticipation was so high that the experience just does not feel real. They end up not being able to be present in the moment and truly experience their trip to its fullest. I can speak from experience on this one! When I went to England with my mother to hike the Cotswold Way with her, a last minute spur of the moment decision, the whole thing just did not feel real. I have lots of video footage and a series of posted YouTube videos but the whole experience of that trip from my memory is simply a blur.
We arrived at the airport a whopping five hours early and spent the majority of that time just sitting around, drinking coffee and people watching. When we arrived at Heathrow Airport we had to make our way by train to Stroud. Both of us were so exhausted and it was hard to think straight. Our first night at our first Airbnb, the anxieties were running high. The nice thing about that place was we spent two nights there and so we were able to move beyond the exhaustion of the travel day, relax and then enjoy the space.
Our first full hiking day was from Stroud to Painswick. I believe it may have been about 20km of hiking. Once reaching Painswick, we laid in the shadow of St. Mary’s church steeple among the 99 Yew trees, awaiting the bus to take us back. Several hours of hiking followed by a 30 minute or so bus ride back to Stroud, I could probably only re-count the specific details of that day by looking back at my video and the picture I took on that day.
As I look forward to Scotland, I keep reminding myself that the experience of thru-hiking is something totally new to me. I have seen several videos on other peoples experiences of doing this trek and they all seem to be so happy and full of enjoyment. Everything appears to be going just perfect and they are having the time of their lives. The weather is sunny and beautiful. They are experiencing their trip as fully expected…..but are they?
Expectations, in my opinion, really come down to your own imagination and how one envisions and sees in their mind’s eye the “video” of what will be. I do also believe that one cannot do something if they cannot imagine themselves doing it! I suppose that could also come down to, if one does not imagine themselves doing it then they likely don’t have an interest in doing it in the first place.
My expectation of this upcoming trip has been fairly calm, I think. I have kept the planning to a minimum and am leaving a lot of the trip experience to be made as I go. I have been watching the weather app to see what it may be like and although right now the weather looks like it is going to hold and be absolutely beautiful I know there is still good chance of rain. My expectations are to be excited, happy, and having fun, but also to experience boredom, loneliness and missing home. I am trying to not hold my expectations so high that I plan to experience nothing but bliss and beauty. I know this is not a feasible expectation.
I want to make sure that my experience is being created along the way and not created ahead of time. When you think back on your trips you have had throughout your life, where do you fall on the scale of expectation vs. experience? How would you approach your trips now compared to then? I do hope you can separate the two for yourself and allow the surreal feeling to be circumvented by reality so you can fully experience your trip in a mindful way.
I am not sure I will have a post next week so my follow up to expectation vs. experience may be delayed until I return. But, with all of this being said, I can honestly say with my trips I have taken with the family were never ruined due to the experience not meeting the expectation. And, even our Cotswold Way trip, did not disappoint. I can say, with almost full certainty, that this trip will be the same. I know there is a good chance of some experiences not meeting my expectations but the reality is I know this ahead of time and with that in mind, I am confident I will be able to roll with it and make the experiences my own.
Until I get back…..make your expectations realistic, be mindful in your experiences and enjoy your adventures…..
DanCyn' Adventures 