Our motley quartet of hikers reluctantly leave a stunning “Tuc” (summit) with astounding views. We pick our way carefully over boulders towards a particularly daunting pass. The Col de Mulleres – a 30-foot vertical rock face, infamous in the Pyrenees and something I have been losing sleep over the past few days.
Even from here, we can see that it’s doable as a few trail runners pop up and over, carefully looking for handholds and always keeping three points on solid rock.
But we will be going down and while wearing big backpacks.
That requires a kind of blind approach and a lot of trust as you need to turn around and climb the rock like a ladder without knowing precisely where to hang on.
I begin to hyperventilate.
And, as is my way, I talk in a non-stop stream of panicky questions coupled with a kind of personal pep talk that goes something like this, “You’ve got this! Take it slow…ok, ok, ok…how do we do this, again? Are we insane??…You’ve got this! Take it slow…ok, ok, ok…”
Evelien goes first, negotiating each move with a quiet focus, followed by her partner Floris who tackles things with just a touch of bravado. Tamir sends me over next with, foreclosing any risk of my backing out.
I can’t say I climbed down without a modicum of whining and heavy breathing, but I find the holds and soon I’m touching solid ground atop a snow-covered trail.
And that’s when I begin to laugh.
I laugh with relief but also joy at having faced my fear alongside good friends in a stunningly beautiful high alpine pass.
And Floris joins in laughing too, telling me that while I was muttering to myself, I somehow squeezed in an “¡Hola!” to everyone we passed, even adding a few “Buen camino’s” along the way.
Which only makes me laugh more. How on earth did I have the presence of mind to smile and be friendly while I was so focused on my fear?
the contagion of a smile
In my TEDx talk trail name is “Blissful Hiker.” I was given the name on the Pacific Crest Trail by other hikers because I smiled and laughed a lot.
Did I smile and laugh every mile from Canada to Mexico?
In a word, no.
But somehow, I managed to grin through snow storms, smirk at yet one more steep climb and beam when the days dragged on.
And to Floris’s remark about my friendly hello’s to each passing hiker, it’s not an act.
It turns out we’re born to smile – and it might very well be a survival technique. Just the physical act of lifting the corners of our mouths increases mood-enhancing hormones like endorphins.
At the same time, smiling decreases stress-enhancing hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol, ones that have no place in a deliberate and safe down-climb on exposed rock.
And funny, smiling is actually not a learned behavior. We are indeed born to smile. There’s evidence right in ultrasounds where doctors have identified fetuses peacefully smiling, an expression they carry into life.
Why do this? For connection, obviously. There’s nothing so sweet and adorable as a smiling baby. And that sweet and adorable baby garners attention.
But the biological imperative to smile is bigger than that, more self-centered.
Not only do we feel better physically releasing endorphins, but those endorphins increase our endurance and strengthen our immune systems.
Smiling makes us more resilient.
Smile School
And guess what? You can have all the health benefits of smiling even without something outside of you prompting it – or by tackling a crazy-dangerous cliff descent!
You can increase your smiling by practicing smiling.
Try this: gather some photos of people, places or things that make you smile and keep them close at hand. Throughout your day, look at one or two and take a brief “smile pause.”
Allow yourself to wholeheartedly smile in that moment and feel the calm that passes over you.
This is especially effective when things are not going as planned, like long lines, traffic, (although you may need to “see” that picture in your mind’s eye for safety!) as well as those less-than-perfect family gatherings.
And you can also practice by smiling at others and saying a hello and have a nice day. You’ll be amazed at how good it makes you feel, but also how good it makes others feel.
ZigZag!
After the epic 30-foot down climb, our quartet relaxed by a beautiful stream. Evelien opened her phone and shared a video of our descent that she shot from below.
You can see me pop over the top and immediately question where to go next. Floris doesn’t skip a beat, and without taking his eyes off his own holds and trying not to slip, he advises, “Zigzag!”
He might as well have said “Improvise. Just smile and go!
