Nature will slap you in the face and show you who you truly are.
Ask anyone who has sought the thrill of the outdoors.
Perhaps you yourself. Have you ridden down black pistes? Scaled mountains and were short of breath with no elevator in sight? Or have you danced on the lip of crashing waves and got wiped out?
All to then do it again.
You show up or fluff up.
Meaning, you persevere or you back down.
Except when you’re out there in the ocean, on the mountain, or riding the raging river there is no turning back. Nor should we desire to.
I think of Thoreau:
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.
I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms…”
When Thoreau said “living deliberately,” he meant to live to the fullest by searching for what it means to be alive, to be part of nature. He meant trying to understand your place in the world, how you fit in it, and by understanding yourself.
After three years of being landlocked, I’ve recently picked up surfing again. And what I realized - amidst my struggle for paddle power and getting thrashed around by sets - is that how you approach nature is how you approach life.
Do you brace and tighten your jaw, anticipating the worst? Or do you relax and rely on your wit - realizing that what is beyond your control is beyond your control?
Do you spend all your stamina in your eager first minutes? Or do you move with the ebb and flow and save some for later?
Do you allow yourself to enjoy the present? Or are you desperate for miracles to appear on the horizon?
Do you give up or do you go out and earn it?
Don’t get me wrong. This is not about judgment. On the contrary. This is about curiosity. - Remember, Tea for the Curious.
I invite you. This day, this week, this month. Put yourself in nature and observe. You will find that how you are, becomes who you are.
Challenge accepted, Roel. Actually, this weekend I'm going away to Munduk with the intention of writing new music. My creative soul has been craving the type of tranquility that only being immersed in a cool forest can provide. I've been wanting to go someplace to see my breath. To feel nature's rattle in my bones... cause maybe then, she'll shake something loose I can put to paper. I plan to approach nature to seek an exchange, where she grants me oxygen and inspiration, and I humbly return carbon dioxide and song. Lately, I've taken more notice of the kin and kith around my house: yellow-breasted hummingbirds that sip on fat flowers, tree frogs that chant hymns through the night, and two fruit bats that dangle above me each and every morning as I make coffee. I find myself approaching life with growing equanimity. I'm enjoying the present. But I'd be lying if I don't admit I'm desperate for miracles on the horizon... and that's how I'm approaching Munduk this weekend. Thanks for this, dear friend. It stirred up a lot of thought in me... and please stay safe out in the surf! :)