Any emotion that I feel about hiking The Trail is a reflection of my own condition. Nature is what it is, regardless of my needs; it cannot accommodate me. This makes it an unbiased, fair teacher. If I feel trapped by my choice to hike the trail, I cannot realistically imagine that this strip of bare ground is making an effort to trap me. It's just sitting there. So I realize that feeling trapped is a sensation I create for myself, and I wonder how many other situations I have been trapping myself in without realizing it.
Maybe part of all spirituality is developing a true sense of a relationship with something "other". Whether you find kinship with nature as a whole, a higher being, a system of thought, an animal, an activity, a sensation, a sports team, or another person, it gives you a reference point against which you can measure your own reactions and feelings. It's some kind of honest mirror into your own condition, whatever that looks like for you.
