The Trek of Life: Choosing Between Difficult and Valuable

Many years ago, during my college days, a simple adventure held a lesson for me that I only came to fully understand years later. Our go-to, pocket-friendly adventure was a train trip to Castle Rock Station, followed by an exhilarating 11km trek to Dudhsagar station. The reason for this journey was two-fold: trains operated only up to Castle Rock station due to some ongoing repairs, and secondly, we found pure joy in the adventure. The railway track served as our path, leading us through the lush greenery of the Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary, by smaller waterfalls, all the way to the grand spectacle of Dudhsagar Waterfall. Each trek would take us around 6-7 hours to complete, and every step was a thrill.

During one such trip, we fell into a discussion about how tough it would be to walk this route barefoot. One friend, always up for a challenge, declared that he would walk the final leg of the trek without shoes. He didn't need to, it wasn't part of the original plan. But the perception of difficulty intrigued him. It wasn't because he found value in the experience, but because we all agreed it was a difficult thing to do.

Many times in life, we find ourselves doing exactly this. We take up challenges not because we value them, but because they are perceived to be difficult. But herein lies the caveat: sometimes we focus so much on the difficulty that we lose sight of whether we derive any value from it. In our quest for external validation and approval, we stray further away from our true purpose and joy in life.

This brings me to a powerful distinction that we often overlook: the difference between doing things because they are difficult and doing things because we value them. It's true that what we value can also be challenging, much like our adventurous treks. But there's an inherent joy in the struggle because we find it meaningful. Doing things simply because they are difficult is akin to my friend's experience of walking without shoes, leading only to bleeding feet at the end of the journey.

In life, the path we choose often determines our experiences and our happiness. Remember, the road less travelled by doesn’t necessarily need to be the road filled with needless hardships. As we tread along life's path, may we always choose what we truly value, even if it's difficult, over what appears difficult but brings no joy.