To have friends is essential to a healthy life. Playing off of my last post, in ancient times people lived in small groups of 15-50 people called bands or tribes. In these times, your survival depended on these people and your relationship with them. Our brains are wired to rely on other people for physical, emotional, and spiritual support. Humans once used teamwork to hunt ice age megafauna with sharpened sticks. Mammoths were noticeably larger than the largest Elephants left alive today, so to kill one with a spear is an impressive and seemingly impossible feat. Today we use teamwork in somewhat less clear ways, but studies show that being close to your friends is a way to prevent depression, anxiety, and to generally be more successful in life. Despite being generally introverted, I have a great group of friends who I am close with.
Despite most of them living elsewhere, and sizable periods of time passing between times we see each other, our friendships are easy to pick back up when we see each other again. This past weekend, the group met up to hike the Rock Garden-Cheaha Lake trail. It was great fun hiking and talking with everyone, and the trail was challenging but not so difficult that it was unenjoyable.
At the bottom of the cliffs, we stopped to take a break.
A couple of us walked up the the base of the rocks, where a stream flowed down the cliff face.
It was a pretty serious exercise, almost completely vertical, but satisfying. The trail went around the cliff, instead of up them. After arriving at the top, we walked down the road to the restaurant for lunch.
They had some pretty great BBQ at the buffet. We then walked/slid/fell back down the trail, until we made it back to the cars. It was tons of fun, and I appreciate my friends greatly. Looking forward to the next time I see them.
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