“Our painful experiences aren’t a liability—they’re a gift. They give us perspective and meaning, an opportunity to find our unique purpose and our strength.”
― Edith Eger, The Choice: Embrace the Possible
Burnt Tree on the Thumbs. Pentax MX, Kodak Image Pro 100, Sep 2025.
Newton’s third law: for every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction. This is a law because it holds true every time. When we push on a wall, the wall pushes back on us. Unless of course the wall falls down.
Taking it a metaphorical step further, we could say that putting ourselves through an ordeal will bring about intense relief at the end. Or we could say that every malady comes with a a remedy, and that every remedy comes with a malady. The ups and downs of life are inseparable; the good times are given meaning by the bad times.
On our recent ‘raftwalking’ * trip to the South West I remarked to my companion Gabriel that expeditions bring about the best of times and also the worst of times; often with a sharp transition from one to the other. One moment we may be wondering about whether our toes are getting frostbite in the blizzard, and later that afternoon we are happily walking through a sunny buttongrass plain. In the space of a few hours our circumstances can change from what appears to be imminent doom to transcendental bliss. And this doesn’t just happen during a trip, it can also happen upon our return.
(*Raftwalking is the apt term for a packrafting trip where the amount of time spent walking with one’s raft outweighs the time spent paddling one’s raft. )
View towards the Gordon River. Pentax MX, Kodak Image Pro 100, Sep 2025.
Undertaking a difficult expedition where all of our energy, resourcefulness, skills, knowledge, courage and perseverance is called upon means that when we get back into the land of safety, back to our every day life in civilization; we not only feel accomplishment and satisfaction; but we are also faced with the repercussions of our extraordinary experience. I have talked in previous posts, about the difficulty of the ‘return’, where we have to return to our routine existence and figure out a way of incorporating the lessons of our trip. But this time I’d like to dig a bit deeper.
Every experience we strive for in life has a metaphorical ‘price’ associated with it. The most obvious price that adventurers ‘pay’ upon their return are ailments or injuries. When we went out to the Gordon Splits last year, the ‘price’ was a large lump on my left shin. A bone bruise the doctor called it. Upon returning from our trip to Southwest Tasmania most recently, I really thought I returned without any injuries except for some numb toes from the cold. My body felt tired and stiff but I was in good physical health overall. My mental state upon our return was also harmonious. We had an amazing, if somewhat difficult trip and the initial return felt glorious.
Towards Mt Wedge, Pentax MX, Kodak Image Pro 100, Sep 2025.
One day after our safe return, on the 20th of November, I was doing my usual morning yoga routine, a sequence of poses I have been doing for years on a daily basis. After a backward bend called the camel pose, something went wrong in my lower back and I could no longer stand up without agony. One moment to the next I had gone from fully capable to fully incapacitated. Lying on my side in bed was fine. Doing everything else hurt like hell. I could wipe my own ass, but only barely. Clearly, this was the ‘price’ I had to pay for carrying a pack that weighed nearly half my body weight through the challenging terrain we traveled through!
In a way, the trip was the remedy: it revitalized me with the primeval energy of the wild country of western Tasmania; calmed my mind and gave me confidence that difficulties in life can be overcome given the right mindset and perseverance.
On the other hand, the trip also created a malady: my lower back hurt like hell! My osteopath I went to see for treatment explained to me that I have suffered a disc injury; likely L4 or L5, and that these discs that act as the shock absorber sponges between the vertebrae have memory; and that it wasn’t just the backward bend that did the injury. It has been years of accumulation, carrying heavy packs, and in particular, the previous three weeks of severe load carrying through rough country that brought my back to breaking point. And as the saying goes, it was the last straw that broke the camel’s back. In this case it was the camel that broke the camel’s back.
Clear Hill. Pentax MX, Kodak Image Pro 100, Sep 2025.
As for the remedy… Meloxicam, panadol, codeine and valium. I have now been taking the drugs for over a week and minimising movement that has caused pain; which is most movement in fairness. Luckily, modern drugs are fairly effective, and the worst of the pain has passed, meaning the healing has started taking place. I can start thinking about re-introducing basic movements. I can now stand up and walk without pain. I even managed to go to work for three hours today. Little steps. Slowly slowly.
Already, the injury has come a long way. But the healing process for a disc injury is a long and winding road. My osteopath advised me that it will likely take about 18 months before my back returns to the state it was before my injury. This is not to say I won’t be able to do anything; with careful progress I should be able to ride a bike and go paddling again in a month or two. But I won’t be doing the camel pose any time soon. Better not put another last straw on the camel’s back.
The Thumbs. Pentax MX, Kodak Image Pro 100, Sep 2025.
But let’s return to our original premise.
Every malady comes with a remedy…
I no longer feel upset about my back telling me I must stop. In fact even when the injury happened, part of me was relieved. Thank god I don’t have to go to work for a week. Extended holidays! :) For the last few years I have felt my life to be way too busy. I have been wanting to slow down but I haven’t been able to make that happen. There has always been so much to do, I simply haven’t given myself the time to slow or stop. And now my body has told me in no uncertain terms that it is time to slow down. And part of me is actually relieved that this has happened. All the self-prescribed ‘to do tasks’ suddenly have waned in importance.
Over the last week I have had time to play guitar, and catch up with friends and family (even if this was mostly electronically). Another immediate outcome has been my walking pace has reduced dramatically. And walking slower I must admit has its benefits. I take so much more of the world in! I see more, hear more and also observe at how fast a pace everyone else seems to be zooming around town. Where I felt myself to be in a rush to get to the next task, I now take my time and don’t care if I don’t get everything done on my to do list.
What’s important is that I make time for all my interactions to play out naturally, without a sense of urgency. And while my housemate joked that I have turned into an old man, it is kind of true, I have been moving exactly like an old man with arthritic back pain would; and it’s put me in that old man’s shoes. I now have so much more sympathy for the suffering that chronic injuries bring with age!
The sharp ridge of the Thumbs. Pentax MX, Kodak Image Pro 100, Sep 2025.
The real risk will come when my back starts feeling better and the temptation will be to think my back is healed and I am good to start doing silly adventures again. But the reality will be that my lower back will be in a susceptible state for months, if not years. So this particular malady will bring with it the remedy of having to adapt my mindset, one that is less goal oriented and more focused on living simply, without a severe desire to perform and achieve. After the tribulations of our trip, I am so content to simply be able to go to the shops and be able to buy some fruit mince pies if that is my wish. To have my toes constantly warm, and to have access to unlimited snacks.
The first week of my injury has been tough; but now my mindset is shifting. I no longer see my inability to do the usual things a set back. It is an opportunity to remedy the state of busyness that my life before my trip entailed. It is time to slow down and focus on the simple gifts that every day brings with it.
-A.S. 29/11/25, Brushy Creek.
Effects of fire on ridge. Pentax MX, Kodak Image Pro 100, Sep 2025.
PS: I’m hoping to start sharing photos and stories from our recent trip to the South-West from next week onward. My film has been processed and I have received some, if not all of my scans. Stay tuned.
