I pursue a modest workout and I’m the one who’s responsible for my ankles.
That’s why I don’t necessarily aim for the top of the mountain. Instead, I just set a time. “Let’s do 40 minutes today.” I set an alarm for 40 minutes later.
While smelling the forest and daydreaming as we climb, when the alarm goes off, I say, “Oh, now let’s go down and eat something.” When my body feels a bit lighter, I say, “Shall we go a little bit further?” When I’ve sweated enough, we head straight down.
40 minutes plus 40 minutes is 80 minutes, which is 1 hour and 20 minutes. For an ex-workout-hater, it’s pretty good.
This has its own charm, different from diligently climbing toward the top.
If we see a beehive, we look at it for a while, and if we hear a woodpecker, we look around to find it.
There’s the charm of free mountain climbing.