41 Comments

Zefan!!! I cannot wait for more audios! I brought you along on my evening walk — it was so nice to have a friend with me :) I really love how our bravery can be what we need it to be. The honesty you choose over and over is so inspiring to me. I really struggle with being hard on myself when I don’t show up in a certain way. But here you reminded me that however I show up is valuable because I showed up in the first place. Thank you thank you ❤️

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Something that I’ve thought about a lot is that it’s so much more beautiful to show up messy than perfect. It’s also reaaallly hard for me to go sometimes, especially with certain people, but I would love to eventually! So glad I could walk with you today, friend 👩🏽‍🤝‍👩🏾

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I was cleaning my kitchen so I played the audio. This was so good! I felt you during every step of that Hike, I was ready to quit for you a couple of times. But I also felt inspired and so proud for you when you finished. Thank you for sharing this!

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Thank you for sticking with me until the end! Makes me so excited that you could feel it and could celebrate on the summit with us 🤲🏽

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Your reading voice is incredibly inviting!

Like a, “Hey friend, it’s good to see you again” vibe 😊

It also made this piece pop! 👏🏽

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So lovely to hear this!! I had more fun than expected while recording the audio ☺️

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Wow, I love this piece. It gives me comfort in knowing that we all experience fear, time and time again, during moments we must gather some courage. And also to know that fear can lessen but may not go away, at least not for a while.

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I’m so glad I could offer you comfort here! I agree — the fear is always there, and this experience was a helpful reminder. Appreciate you sharing what this story meant to you 💛

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You described bravery so well! I resonated with the being anxious part but also trying to be compassionate enough to keep going.

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And switching to compassion instead of brute force makes it all the more possible to get there!

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That anxiety of feeling like you’re going to fall off a mountain. Whew. I’ve felt it and absolutely hated it. Also this audio!!! Your personality shines through. Thanks for letting us in on this!

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Listen the fact that I didn’t somersault off that mountain still feels like a miracle 🤸🏽 You’re the one who inspired me to start incorporating audio, it’s been so fun!

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Finally read it! Gorgeous gorgeous writing - and I was riveted the whole way. Also, can I just say, as a person who is TERRIFIED of heights. HOW? Just.... HOWWWWWW!!!!???

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The amount of times I made my peace with death was wild 😭

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Gaaaaaaaaaah!!!

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Loved reading this! Your story is a true representation that bravery isn't always about charging fearlessly into the unknown, but about pushing through the uncertainty with resilience and determination.

Appreciate the recommendations you shared at the bottom of your post as well :)

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I’m so glad it resonated! Thanks for the thoughtful comment and for being here 🧡

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It’s true—bravery isn’t always blind perseverance of someone who simply doesn’t know fear or exhaustion. Often like with most emotions, bravery is an active effort for continue overcoming your fears! Wonderful job firstly, of climbing that mountain, and then in recording your experience so well here!

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Yes, it’s so easy to forget these things — I hope this experience will always remind me! Thank you so much for the congrats 🧡

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You are a phenomenal writer!

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I’m so glad you were able to connect to the experience!

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The amount of mental toughness needed to do something like this imaginable. 10 steps at a time. I need to apply that to everything. Would you say these hikes are the hardest things you’ve done?

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10 steps at a time has been a life hack for me, let me know how it works for you! And honestly yes — or maybe one of the hardest. I walked the Camino in Europe last year which was maybe more physically demanding, but the conditions were nowhere near as rugged and uncomfortable. It’s been great to do some hard things even if I’ll ✨never✨do them again (I’ll stick to part-time hikes).

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Your writing brought me along right up and back! It also transported me back to the time I trek the Annapurna Circuit, and the time I surpass my personal limit of height one can achieve in this world without dying at Thorung-La Pass! Nepal will always have a special place in my heart, it was a very transformative trek, in every way. And yes, you are brave. A wise friend once said to me, "Courage is not something you already have that makes you brave when the tough times start. Courage is what you earn when you've been through the tough times and discovered that they aren't so tough after all".

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The Thorung-La Pass is such a testament!! I was so proud of all the friends I had made that got there. And wow— I absolutely love the idea that we “earn” our courage, that we get to work for it.

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You did the Camino and the Mardi Himal too?? The universe is telling us something! 😆

This hike was no joke. I couldn’t walk for 3 days afterwards.

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A list of what people do to find themselves 🥲

And yes!!! For weeks I refused to walk anywhere with even the slightest incline — those days were behind me.

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Hahaha yep! My partner “I’m never walking uphill again!” 🤣🤣🤣

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Loved your friend's texts so much. And then this, I could FEEL it: "Boots crunch over snow as I debate quickening my pace, if only to provide more heat to my body than my 4 layers of clothing have given me. My anxiety treats every icy step, shrouded in darkness, as a life-or-death decision. Will my crampons keep me from somersaulting off the mountain’s edge?"

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I still feel the crunch 😓 And yes, my friend is such an amazing person, I’m lucky to have him! Hoping I can get him to start dropping some gems on Substack haha

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what amazing prose.

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Appreciate this! 🫶🏽

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I'm a Nepali who's been forced into hiking by my British husband 😂 and sloooooooowly starting to enjoy it...minus the mud in British walks 🤢😂

Loved this post!

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What an existential question... is mud better than snow?? Hope you learn to enjoy it and glad you were able to sympathize with my misery here! I completely fell in love with everything about Nepal... even this part, eventually haha.

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aaaa i'll take snow over mud any day of the week (i've also started learning to ski, thanks again to my british husband 😂, and enjoyed it enough to have another go)

so happy to hear you enjoyed Nepal.

if i fall in love with muddy british walks i'll update you 😂

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Hahaha please do!

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