Ash Wednesday! Walk it off: How going out in nature has helped with my sobriety.

Hey, guys! Happy Wednesday! These past few times I've posted I feel personally I haven’t been my 100% present wonderful self, so I wanted to take a movement to just kinda do something a little different today. I am actually writing a post in my living room at the moment, and all I can think about it is, wow, Ash you got a shit ton of art you better hang that all up when you're done girl. MOOOOOOVING on….. >..>

So I guess this would be kinda a not well known fact about me unless you have hung out with me recently at a gathering, don’t worry I am keeping it small with all that COVID shit and all, But 999999999.999999% of the time you're prob gonna see me with my hydro flask in my hand. Sure, it’s black so it matches everything else that I own but what's in it? When I am with other people what's in my flask? It's always water. I am always drinking water, I don’t drink haven[']t in almost 2 years in October, I see nothing wrong with it, it's just not for me anymore, and I am happy it makes others happy but they always either give me that nod of the your cool bro, or they ask me “ So what happened that you don’t drink anymore?” Usually my mechanical response is because there are better ways to get a buzz on, dude, and they usually drop it. But lately things have been kinda shaping up differently I am like kinda sorta just above all of these mind altering things in life. As far as recreational drugs I really don’t even do that anymore unless offered. It's rare. 

With the world shutting down, and people turning to alcohol more, and more to cope I see a-lot of my friends either going down two roads: they’re either drinking more then usual to numb out of what's been transpiring these last few months or, they are beginning to abstain from alcohol altogether, and instead take up better habits for their health, like running, or my current favorite has been hiking lately. My brother and I just finished a 10+ mile hike up a mountain and we saw over 20 waterfalls in Ricketts Glen PA. I've wanted to go to this place forever and I have to admit there were times I had to stop and times I got out of breath but we made it through and the car ride home you bet your ass I almost passed out. It felt amazing, it was better than runners high, better than a night out with my girlfriends, and way better than any date I've been on in the past year. 

How has hiking helped maintain my sobriety from alcohol? That's an easy one. It's way more feasible for me to spend my time out in nature or even a walk around my neighborhood that sits back and kills a six pack. I feel better the next day knowing I am not going to have a hangover, or the anxiety of driving places impaired. I mean I sort of just keep things more low key now because of Covid. I felt a ton of social pressure to please and be there for everyone, even people who couldn’t really care less about my feelings, or my comforts, or personal beliefs. I don’t have time for anyone who dismisses me like that or doesn’t even show me the courtesy. I cannot stress this enough, something switched in me when I stopped numbing out and just going along with the motions of well pretty much surface level interactions. Now I have a great much smaller group of friends. I don’t post as much as I once did on social media because, except for promoting my art, I have chosen to keep my private life on the super DL..

     Ash, c'mon, focus, you always do this so what is it about hiking that I really like? I haven't had proper health insurance in almost 3 years and with the state of things in this country I'll be lucky if I get health insurance by my mid 30s at the latest. But I feel fine, I am sure I have a cavity or two but I am not gonna die any time soon. I like hiking because like yoga and meditation it keeps me in check with my body and It is an easy and often interactive way to spend a proper amount of time outside which I know people my age don't get the allotted amount of vitamin D they should. It boosts my mood, helps my depression when it creeps up from time to time, and resets me for when I do need to switch off and get back to factory settings I guess you can say, I also recently just purchased a Tongue Drum and I can't freaking wait to play in outside when it's nicer out. The weather is still really hot, and I am really looking forward to when it cools off, fall I have a good feeling you have some cool places and people coming my way. Call it intuition. Call it whatever you want. I am happiest when I disappear for a day in nature, as much as a love where I live I love the feeling of having no cell service and literally the feeling that anything can happen to you. 

See ya next week I got something cool in store! Like always! 

Make sure to visit Ricketts Glen if you haven't already! 
Or hit me up and we can go on a hike!