In juli 2016 we were hiking through the Swedish forest with a group of dutch people. We brought the group to the Garden of Sweden for a week of outdoor activities. After we found a nice spot to have some food and go for a swim one of my colleagues climbed on a rock and said “Okay, this is a survival situation. We’re not going home tonight.” I snapped instantly, this was way out of my comfort zone. I’m the kind of person who likes to plan everything. I was scared, angry, confused and sad all at the same time. I acted like an asshole for a bit. Luckily there were two things that changed this situation to become one of the best experiences of my life.
The first one was the love and warmth of the people I was with, they comforted me and listened to my fears and thoughts.
The second was the decision to serve and help others. The minute I started to help someone else who was also dealing with the same feelings, all my fears went away. So when you serve others you’re not only helping them but also yourself. In the end, we didn’t sleep much, but we cuddled a lot and guarded the fire one by one. We experienced a wonderful moment with one another.
