[pct-l] Fit for a thru-hike?

[Jim Bravo]

Fallingwater wrote:
> We all come to the trail with our own baggage of thoughts, fears and life
> practices that we've accumulated over our lifetimes. What makes you think
> your way of approaching a hike is best for everyone? Can be assured you're
> even helping them on the life path they're traveling?

Fallingwater:
 Ahh, a thread to stir the soul! You made a number of powerful and poignant 
points, one of which is highlighted above. Me thinks you have lived a little 
bit. The hike each of us embarks upon is a microcosm of our lives, seemingly 
different, but all heading in a common direction: personal (and ultimately 
collective) evolution.

Who, indeed, does know what is best for another? In this life I call my own, 
those experiences that an onlooker might have called a failure were, in 
fact, my greatest successes because I grew from them. I was very ill for a 
few years and I look back on that period as the greatest teacher I have 
known. It is helpful if one can avoid being caught up in one's own "story", 
because that's all they are, just stories and opinions. How often do we see 
the "I" word? Let people fail, let people succeed, who knows which is which? 
In the long run (or walk, for this group), it is best, in this observer's 
opinion, to just let it be.

Jim