Walking 6-8 hours each day means arms and legs do their thing automatically and the mind is free to roam. Without the need to be doing anything else than walking (that and keeping a sharp eye on the terrain and potential hazards), the opportunity ws to be truly human beings, fully engaged in the present moment i.e. this minute, this hour, this morning. We were absorbed with what we were doing, seeing and feeling, with all that was around us.

The key to being in the present moment is to stop wasting energy and time looking back to how things are/were or, looking too far forward on how things might be. It is easy to ruminate endlessly on grievances, missed opportunities or past successes or events. Too much focus in the past or on the imagined future means we miss now – the present. The challenge is to remember that this moment, this day, will never come again. The past is gone, the future isn’t known and there is no guarantee we’ll have a tomorrow, so all there really is, is now. Focus on that.