OUT OF EDEN WALK

I walked in the rain with Paul Salopek for almost 20 miles in April 2023, covering the distance in six hours and 30 minutes.

It was a first for me, this blistering pace, splashing along a busy truck road from Ding’xiang county to Dong’ye town in the remote heart of Shaanxi Province in north-central China some 350 miles west of Beijing. I had previously walked in the rain only when necessary: to avoid traffic jams, or when my destination was close by, or when there were no other options. But here in rural China, for the first time, I was pacing off soaking steps with a different effect: Eventually, I came to feel that I was walking into myself.

At first, things seemed dull and dreary. The roads were covered with brown mud, and the pedestrian paths were crowded with scooters and cars pulled over for shelter. Wary of catching a cold, I wore a high-tech rain jacket, and I trod carefully in an attempt to keep the toe-numbing chilly water out of my black sneakers.

This was the second time I’d joined Paul on the trail in China. In April of 2022, we walked together from Ya’an, a city in central Sichuan Province, to a 2,000-year-old trading town called Ping’le. I was taking a break from one of the many COVID lockdowns, pondering where my life was leading me.

Years ago, I was a different person. My life was fast and furious. I started a business in the hyper-competitive food and beverage industry with a desperate desire to succeed. Like many aspiring entrepreneurs, I was always racing against time, eager to launch new products to capture market attention. My daily schedule was packed, and I was meeting with more and more people—until the pandemic arrived.

The global economy hit pause. The Earth itself seemed to hit pause. I was anxious. My life was in emergency mode, and I too felt compelled to pause and wonder: What have I been doing? What have I done for the people around me? What have I done for my community—for the world?

That’s when the slowed-down walking phase of my journey began, with a fully-awake consciousness, a pair of discerning eyes, and an open heart.

Back on the rain-slick roads of Shaanxi, each footstep meshed effortlessly into the next. Without having to rush to reach a specific destination, I was simply “being,” in the presence of rain, surrendering to mother nature, and letting my senses take in whatever the environment presented. At every step, mind transcended body; nature’s veil gradually lifted. Walking in the rain was no longer uncomfortable—raindrops had become caresses.

I had never consciously paused in my life for deep self-reflection. During those frenetic years, I had failed to pay close attention to what is common to all human beings: our emotions and sensations from seeing, touching, listening, and feeling. Walking in the rain unsealed such simple rewards in me.

With new eyes, from a distance, I watched the mountains unfold, layer by layer. I noticed the details of trees and their leaves—the varied shapes and shades of young April greens. Time after time, I couldn’t help but stop simply to touch the contours of leaves and smell the buds of the flowers. I heard cheerful raindrops falling on my umbrella, making a song of water. In these precious moments of slowing down my mind by navigating on foot, I felt a sense of profundity that guided me to experience the wonders of the ordinary world that I’d forgotten since childhood.

A strange thing happened as this walking day wore on.

As I approached 15 miles, my body felt fatigued, and my steps were getting heavier. Yet, oddly, my mind was getting lighter. The rains had washed away my concerns, lifting my spirits. Walking with my own two feet, the most ordinary activity humans can engage in, had gifted me a tremendous fresh power: The earth is waiting to be touched, the rains to be heard, and the trees to be seen. In this way, at my own pace, I am walking toward enlightenment.

Becky Lin is an entrepreneur in the food and drink industry in Shanghai who previously lived in New York City and Washington, D.C. Walking with Paul Salopek, she covered 400 miles in three provinces: Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Hebei.