She read an ad in the paper:
"The Valley Walk - an Anti Kick"
(The 'Grey' Phases Of Manifestation)

Her first reaction was: oh, in the valley again, que mierda. . . . well, peaks are rare and provide only short term excitement..

Just a week ago, she felt on top of the world, having finished a project to big acclaim. She had celebrated with a few friends, and like most people on a personal peak forgot the inevitable descent. Nothing could be more natural, one would think. The tricky thing is when 'descent' is combined with feelings of 'decline'.

Surprisingly, an increasing weight is felt. Should it not be the opposite? After all we are on a descent . . . yet there we are, the power of feelings: when she was climbing the mountain - working on her project - she was so full of enthusiasm that the climbing felt like a walk in the park. Filled with inspiration and anticipation she was flying!

She assumed this was not an accident and decided to call.

Now, trotting downwards appeared to be heavy like a mule carrying the weight of the world. And now she was reading something about an 'Anti Kick' - whatever that was supposed to be. She assumed this was not an accident and decided to call.

What was it about? she asked. She was told that the Valley Walk is about the phase after some important event had happened and what might be learned and appreciated through it in a conscious way.

She decided that this felt exactly right for her.

They were a group of just five people who walked 'The Valley' with her, including the guide, a burly forty something guy. They walked, talked, fell silent, talked again. From time to time the guide threw in some apparently innocent question: did they notice this or that tree or plant?  How did they feel under their feet? Were they hungry, thirsty?

The longer they walked, the more she became aware that just paying attention would leave no room for past experiences, peak or what. When they had a rest she pulled out her journal and jotted down some things she had noticed:

• Anti Kick is cool!
• presence is what is happening always, no matter if peak or valley. Being present is being alive! it's the clinging to anything past that does you in!
• you want to enjoy? Then enjoy  the inspired anticipation of ascending, the excitement of reaching peak, the letting go of the descent, the valleys of integration.
• you want to enjoy even more? Then enjoy the challenges of ascending, the variations of peaks, the uncertainties of descents, the fog and the trivialities of the valleys.
• and even more joy? How about the astute concentration, the healthy sweat on the ascent, the fresh air and free view at the peak, the sweet sadness and melancholic afterglow of the descent, the imaginative space and the energetic recovery of the valleys.
• there are no 'grey' valleys, just different qualities of intensity. There are no lakes at the peak!
• life is an ongoing adventure of ups and downs, as everybody knows: the difference is between suffering of being somewhere else or enjoying being in the flow of moments.

After the walk with her fellow Anti Kickers she felt exhilarated! Some exchanged phone numbers, maybe there would be another Valley Walk?

She understood the inevitability of integrating insights, freeing up some space inside for new moves, new ideas. And that takes its own time. Walking, biking, whatever physical activities with their different focus on the body were helpful.

Develop the confidence that 'good' is good enough and excellence is the exception, she thought. She became increasingly aware how much the 'gray times' contribute to excellence. There the seeds were planted. Its just that WE can't take credit for those kinds of 'successes' which sometimes appear as a blow to our ego!

She also recognized the loneliness of 'peak' and the commonality of 'valley'.
Not a bad result for a walk, she felt. Contentment set in.