In 2013, my wife and I hiked from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Katahdin, Maine. Walking isn't exactly the best word to describe what we were doing. What we experienced is commonly known as a hike through the Appalachian Trail. It is a very difficult trek; 2,186 miles through 14 states along the spine of the Appalachian Mountains, taking 6 months and 10 days to complete the journey. Part of the journey has been adapting to what is known as “life on the trail,” learning to cope with the stress of walking all day every day and living on very little. By very little I mean very little comfort and convenience. The thrill of adventure stifles this adjustment period, and people starting out are generally very enthusiastic about hiking despite the cold. After six months spent living an alternative lifestyle, including the widely accepted adoption of pseudonyms known as "trail names", an almost complete isolation from mainstream society, and a focus on walking every day and enjoying the simple things , like being dry, the journey was over. Now we had the task of readjusting to "normal" life. Six months later I sat down to reflect on our experience on the trail and our new revelations about life. These are some of the lessons we learn from walking. Simplicity of Choice In today's society we have an abundance of choices and decisions. Our choices are so broad in variety and substance that the choices themselves are choices; I choose to be someone who chooses these things. I'm a Mac, I'm a PC. This abundance of choice has led to an extreme increase in the amount of senseless discomfort in people's lives. Is this the car I really wanted? Is this the best school for my child? Is this the career path I really want? Let's try to guess our... half of the card... and once we had, Chet is an overall happy man. On our worst days, we humbly thought back to Chet and his story and remembered how grateful we are to walk and be alive. At the beginning of our hike, we referred to our pre-trail reality as “real life” and our current state as “life on the trail.” The further we went, the more life on the trail became real life and our old real life became an empty set of standards. Life is not about all the false pretenses that humans have made up. We are not designed to fall in line with others, buy into our dreams, slip into a passive existence, invite brainwashing, or ignore those around us. Life is about living, being happy, loving others and experiencing this world with the people you love. Everything else is secondary. If we choose to set our priorities on what is truly important, we would all be better off.