The sun rose on a beautiful morning in late July, lighting up the picturesque valley below an unnamed mountain peak in the Bavarian Alps. The lively sounds of birds, the rushing water of the river cascading down into the valley, and the rustling trees in the morning breeze filled the air. It had been over three days since I had seen a human being, and five days since my phone had died. I had but only my trail map, telling me that I had 15 miles to the completion of my journey. When I unzipped my tent and saw the beautiful oasis that surrounded me, I knew I had to stay just one more day, even if it meant missing my check-in date (in which I would confirm to my loved ones that I was in fact alive) as well as my train back to northern Germany.
I sat there all day, soaking in the serenity of the moment, playing songs I held close to my heart on my half-sized guitar. In my moment of reflection, I recalled the countless moments in my life marked by stress and uncertainty, where it felt like the weight of everything was too much to bear. I knew in my heart that the entire trip wouldn’t have been half as meaningful if it weren’t for those struggles; the beauty of solitude, the clarity of my thoughts, and the peace I felt there were only amplified by the memories of the challenges I had overcome. It was in this stillness that I realized the most profound moments in life often follow our greatest trials, and in that realization, I found a new sense of strength to carry with me as I journeyed on. The saying, “the lower the lows, the higher the highs,” had always felt like a cliche to me, but in that moment, it came alive with undeniable truth.