They say a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

How many steps a day do you take walking to the kitchen? How many steps do you take walking to the store? How many steps do you take when you’re hiking your local trail?

 Now, if you’re also walking to and from the kitchen, gym, grocery store, work, hiking trail, bike path, airport, etc, how many steps do you think everyone else is taking?

Thousands of steps? Millions? Billions? Maybe even trillions?

I stood there in the middle off Shibuya Crossing, one of the most iconic intersections on this planet, wondering, yet I hadn’t taken a step in a few seconds. This was part of why I had taken a trip abroad, no not just to experience a busy metropolitan crossing, but to figuratively “take a step back.” To stand still and remember that as one famous movie quote repeated over and over in my young adult life kept reminding me “life moves pretty fast, if you don’t stop to look around, you may miss it”

When I was on a thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail years ago, I remembered how life on trail had slowed down. The comings and goings of my daily life were being simplified. There were only certain things I was concerned about, food, water, shelter. Those are still things I think about daily but when you’re out on trail, you savor that burger you had in town, that soda a trail angel put out in a cooler next to a picnic area. A shower after a few days on trail has Different feeling to it, you know what I’m saying, yes you, I see that grin on your face. 

Each of these steps, how are you taking them, and more importantly, what were you wearing? I’ve been a fan of trail runners since my third day on a long trail, I haven’t back to hiking boots since. Is there anything wrong with boots, absolutely not, my feet just feel better in shoes. Comfort, that is the key for me and is something I advise all people when it comes to footwear. It starts with your feet, any discomfort that radiates throughout your body. 

Footwear that blends into different environments, surroundings, experiences, these are what I search for. These are part of the journey. I have found some of the comfiest shoes are trail shoes, but vice versa, some of the most practical shoes are the ones that fit into a mountain town and/or a local trail. I try not to stress too much on how I look, but that's not to say that looks and feels don't correlate.

From bustling streets in big cities to that local coffee shop in your favorite mainstreet in the mountains, it's about balance and taking those first steps. Only then will you know what works and how many steps it will take to get you where you need and want to go.

I stood there in the middle of Shibuya Crossing, one of the hundreds of people coming and going across one of the busiest intersections in the world. I stood there with my trail shoes, no one batted an eye, I blended in and thought to myself, and just like that a new journey has begun, because as I stood there I knew that first step I took would be that first step in the next journey.

千里の道も一歩から

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