Marianne & Lisa’s Misogis

Lisa: In 2023, I read The Comfort Crisis: Embrace Discomfort to Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self  by Michael Easter and got a copy for Marianne.

In this book, Easter talks about how in our culture we have elevated comfort above all other values to the detriment of our health and wellbeing. He describes misogi as a Japanese concept with Shinto roots. It’s used in this context as a personal challenge you’re only 50 percent sure you can complete as a way of resetting your life, stretching your boundaries, and enlarging your comfort zone.

I was caring for my ailing mother, who lived in Orange County, California, and watching her deteriorate. Mom spent the last ten years of her life sitting in her chair, doing nothing but watching TV and ruminating on her regrets.

I knew I had to live the last quarter of my life differently. Easter’s book gave me the idea to embark on a challenging, life-changing adventure with one of my dearest friends.

Marianne: Lisa and I have had ourselves some adventures, so my first thought when she asked me to hike over 100 miles on the Flint Hills Trail was YES!

I yearned to return to backpacking new trails. The last time I backpacked was in 2015 and I missed it. And of course, I would do anything she asked me to do! I read The Comfort Crisis too, so I knew the reasons we wanted and needed to do this.

My second thought was, “How will I do that? I’m old and out of shape!”

As we began to plan, doubt continued to creep into my mind. How will we carry everything for 9 days? How will we carry water? What if we get murdered???