Boy, you gotta carry that weight; carry that weight a long time.
As Paul McCartney’s voice echoes in my mind, I’m reminded of the metaphorical weight we all carry in life. It’s a weight that comes in many forms – physical, mental, or emotional. Still, it’s a weight we must bear, a burden we must carry and overcome. Without it, we won’t be better versions of ourselves than we were one day earlier. Paul McCartney’s voice in one of the greatest Beatles songs, “Carry That Weight,” started echoing in my mind after I began to ruck. To ruck is to walk with additional weight. In my case, I put an extra 12 kg (26 lbs) of barbell plates in my rucksack. I wrote this text on the 29th of September, 2024. It was a day when I did more than 13.5k steep with a heavy load on my back and shoulders.
It was not the first day the Beatles and Paul McCartney’s voices appeared in my mind.
I must admit it. It is hard to walk almost 9 km (5.5 miles) with an additional burden hanging on your shoulders. But with each step, I grow stronger, more resilient, and more determined to face life’s challenges head-on. It’s not just about the physical exertion but the mental fortitude it takes to push through. I don’t have to mention that I took over 100 pictures during my photo walk. The more I ruck, the more I remind myself that the difficulty is destiny. I know I could spend this time lying on a couch and watching football games, eating chips, and chocolates. It would be much more convenient to do it. Still, I want challenges in my life. Another challenge is to take a freezing shower after this strenuous walk. Ok, this shower was refreshing, reinvigorating, and reverberating for me.
Still, I know most people would not dare to pour frigid water on themselves.
They simply are afraid of the cold. I am not scared of a cold since April 2021. It was a month when I started taking regular cold showers. Since the fall/winter season 2021/2021, I have been exposing my body to freezing temperatures by walking in summer clothes when there is even snow outside. Cold hurts, like carrying a burden on one’s shoulders. Still, I know it is one of the best things I could do for myself. To feel that I am alive. Thanks to doing it, I know I will take many more photographs in my life and write much more meaningful content for you, my Dear Friend. Boy, you gotta carry that weight until the end of life.
