Fighting Misery Through Hitchhiking

Following the escapades of my travelling I happen to start running low on money. With only £23.56 in my bank and £6.25 in my pocket I jump onto a plane heading to Scotland. I travel to Findhorn, the village my parents live in and which is beautifully located on the east coast of Scotland. The Gulfstream flows not far from here and that is one of many factors which give this little coastal village a slight microclimate. With not extreme amounts of rain, snow for only 5 days a year and a lot of sunny hours this is probably the most lovely place in Scotland for me. However the days that are strongly overcast feel never ending and do manage to bring my spirits to a low point. In total I spent about 3½ months there, from August till December. Because I never really fit into any group very well during my school years I didn't really have a lot of close friends up in Scotland. Definitely not now, after having been away for pretty much a year. Also with the University courses starting in September everyone was away, and the ones that weren't I didn't know. So during the first month of being in Scotland I spent a lot of time simply designing this website and working a little bit here and there. I managed to get into more of a rhythm when I started working at the Bakehouse, a little cafe and bakery located a 5min walk away from my flat. Nevertheless the feelings of being a little alone didn't stop as I had no one to create a deep connection with. Well, I knew there were people out there, I just didn't know where to look. This combined with the whole fast travelling itself, going from one place to the next without really being able to reach those deeper levels of communication with new people, and the grim weather had the fatal result of me not feeling completely content with the situation in Scotland. Hence one Tuesday morning I wake up earlier than usual to go to a doctors appointment and as I get out of the hospital I don't head back home. Instead I walk to the road leading south, to Aviemore, Perth and Glasgow. After waiting for 1½h I get a ride with an older lady from Findhorn to Aviemore. After two more rides and a short tram ride I arrive in the flat of Kevin and Caroline, friends of mine that were studying in Glasgow at that time. The following morning I text Damon, who I had met just 2 weeks before coming down to Glasgow during the 'New Story Summit' in Findhorn. He happened to be in the area because he had some clients up north that he had to talk to and one evening he went out to a bar, met some people from the Summit and they invited him to come to a party that was taking place in the Findhorn Community Centre. I happened to be there and meet him and after a short conversation we had become friends. "Whenever you come down to Glasgow just see if I am around." Were his parting words that evening. So I text him "Are you around Glasgow by any chance?" A few minutes later I get a call from him. "Good morning Noah, I am around Glasgow right now. Where are you?" He asks with his light scottish accent. "Me too, I am just chilling with some friends. I think I am somewhere near the acropolis." I answer as I look out the window to see the sun bathing a couple of houses in its light. "What street are you in?" He inquires further. I turn my head around to ask Kevin where we are. "I am in Hillfoot Street, do you know where that is?" I hear laughter coming from the other end of the phone. "Ah no way man, can you track my phone or something? I am just walking up Hillfoot Street right now." Damon replies. At this moment I look out the window again and see a man walking along the road holding a phone to his ear. "Really? Could you look to your left just for a second." I tell him and see the man walking on the street turning his head to the left. It felt a little surreal as I ran down the stairs to say hello in person. After a nice cup of tea in a little cosy Café we had caught up on life and made new plans to meet up again. The following day I took the bus to Edinburgh to stay there for a day and night with my friend Michiel, I see Scott Matthews play live and then hitch hike back to Findhorn. Getting to Glasgow took me about 6h, but getting back up north was just unbelievable in comparison. In total I end up only having to wait for about 15min for two rides. One brings me just outside of Perth and from there a man picked me up who was going to Inverness. We end up getting on so well that he decides not to drop me off in Aviemore as we had planned, but instead brings me all the way to Findhorn. He wasn't under any time pressure and hence didn't mind the 1h detour. After arriving in Findhorn we take a little walk on the beautiful beach and then go our separate ways. In total getting to Findhorn took me about 4h, just as fast as long any car normally would. Over the whole course of this hitchhiking experience I had completely forgotten about being 'alone', my spirits had grown immensely and I felt full of energy. The following weeks my attitude completely changes. This change from an introverted mindset to an extroverted one results in me gaining friends very quickly and creating a comfortable circle in Findhorn. Also the visit of a friend from Switzerland brings more energy into my life. From this experience I found an easy way to refuel my happiness: hitchhiking. For me it is a great remedy for low spirits or light phases of depression, as it allows me to feel full freedom and shows how lovely people can be. Using hitch hiking as a tool I can allow myself to become clear and focussed again in addition to the fact that it is a great way to meet great people.