I didn’t know what was happening in the World Cup last week.
I didn’t know who Spurs had signed
I didn’t know what was sitting in my inbox.
I didn’t know what my mother had for breakfast in Connemara!
I didn’t know anything that was happening anywhere.
I was in the Atlas Mountains for the Dare to Explore expedition. No phone. On the day we did three summits, I didn’t even carry it for photos. We just swapped that job around the group.
Between November and June, most of my focus had gone on getting my ankle right and getting myself there. Recovery, then the physical challenge.
That was the story I’d been telling myself about what this trip was.
Being there was something else entirely.
Every morning started the same way. Half an hour over breakfast together, no rush to it. Then we’d fill the water bladders and bottles, get the packs sorted, and spend fifteen minutes stretching and warming up as a group.
Jason would lead us through some breathwork and get us to set an intention for the day. Simple, but it settled the mind before a single step was taken.
At the end of each hiking day, a quieter version of the same thing. Stretch it out together, then collapse into the tent for an hour or two before anyone moved again.
That rhythm did something on its own, separate from the mountains or the silence. Same shape every day. Nothing to decide, nothing to plan around.
Nature on its own does something too. Snoozing in the tent to the sounds of the river, the birds or some distant conversation.
No distraction pulling you sideways. You start noticing things about yourself you don’t usually have the room to notice.
Then take the phone away completely and something else happens again.
In my work I carry a lot of other people’s stories. That’s the job. I listen. Those stories sit somewhere in me, even when I’m not actively thinking about them.
Last week, for the first time in a long time, there was space for all of that to settle. To filter down on its own.
The nicest part was that I didn’t even feel the need to sit down and deliberately reflect on anything for myself.
It was just quiet. A true break, even though it was so active.
I haven’t felt this recharged in years.
When was the last time you had real quiet, not the kind you schedule, but the kind that just happens because there’s nothing left competing for the space?
