Episode 88 – Alone with Her Thoughts on the Welsh Coastal Path

Episode 88: Alone with Her Thoughts on the Welsh Coastal Path

Interview with Hiranya de Alwis Jayasinghe

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Hiranya de Alwis Jayasinghe set out to be the first “BAME” woman in the United Kingdom to thru hike the Welsh Coastal Path. She didn’t achieve her goal, but after 570 miles on foot, she could hear herself loud and clear.

Once Hiranya was off the path, she sent us a photo of a piece of paper scrawled with thoughts and themes she drew from her walk. In the middle was this quote by David Brooks:

The resume virtues are the skills you bring to the marketplace. The eulogy virtues are the ones that are talked about at your funeral…we all know that eulogy virtues are more important than resume ones. But our culture and educational systems spend more time teaching the skills and strategies that you need for career success than the qualities you need to activate that sort of inner light. Many of us are clearer on how to build an external career than how to build inner character.

While Hiranya didn’t accomplish her goal aka add to her “resumé” virtues, she’s happy to have stories of the Welsh Coastal Path to develop those “eulogy” virtues.

Find the episode below, on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, GooglePlay, or wherever you stream podcasts.

Featuring: Hiranya de Alwis Jayasinghe

Hosted by Gale Straub 

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Music is by Jason Shaw, Josh Woodward, Lee Rosevere, and Kai Engel via freemusicarchive.org using a CC by A license

Music is also by Sun Shapes

In this episode, you’ll hear:

– What the ~870 mile Welsh Coastal Path is
– Why Wales is so important to Hiranya
– Why she chose to hike solo
– “On your own? You’re very brave.” What Hiranya heard most often about being on her own and why she thinks that is
– Why what is deemed a “good adventure” feels like a hierarchy
– How trails in the US are different than the Welsh Coastal Path
– How hiking solo gave Hiranya a new appreciation for her body
– Balancing comfort and challenge on a long hike
– How Brexit brought out a resurgence of racism in the UK and how Hiranya experienced this as a South Asian woman on the path
– Whether or not people are talking about DEI and the outdoors in the UK
– Gender norms Hiranya observed on the path
– How she felt when she got off the path after 48 days

Links/Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

•  Hiranya’s blog: Life Moves in Cycles
• Hiranya on Facebook
• She Explores Podcast Facebook Group

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