The Start
Thanks for stopping by, as Mr. Cain use to say; Stay a while and listen.
I have something to share with you, something I need to shake off my chest. And I will tell you through a memory that I have managed to create by carving it out from the wild whilst forming it into something, hopefully you too find, amazing.
Generally, as of late, my friends remind me that I am way too private, too quiet or altogether lost in my head. It didn’t use to be in my spectrum, I was once the wild card, but I have changed. Thats the thing with people, they change and I believe it will be for the better, it allows us to grow.
So I’ve decided to voice this memory, and take you with me.
This is my journey, to the mountains and back.
First, have you ever caught yourself staring at something that, for just a moment, you didn’t think was real? It was a fairy tale, a myth, something that could’ve only been manufactured in a studio.
My first stop took me to the exact thing I was seeking, a mirror. Something to bring it all to the surface and display it proudly. The shadow of this mountain lay forever crystallized in the lake below it, it mirrored exactly what it is, and never lied about it. The clouds would pass and shift around it in the summer air, never enough to carve away at its unchanging image.
The Lesson
A short trek throu
gh the forest can teach you many things. It was where we were first born, first shaped to
become the race we are today. Leaping rock over rock, stride after stride without break, you twist and turn through the terrain. The faster you moved the better it burnt. All for the hunt, all to get what is yours.
The first to go were my calves, then my breath. The sweat would then begin to break from my brow as I feel the limits of my body being pushed.
Then you would reach that ridge.
‘This is your plateau’ it would whisper to you, ‘it is your limit.’
It stares at you, daring you to cross it. To get off the beaten path and carve your own. Very seldom would you find what you’re looking for upon a path crossed by many. That isn’t to say it’s not there, it sure as hell may be, but will it satisfy you when you reach it? Will you be satisfied with your efforts for being safe, without taking that risk, that leap of faith that has been staring at you down its sights.
Its time to pull the trigger. To jump in… it’s time to start carving.
The Hike
The hike started like any other, the path was guided, worn. You knew where you had to go, you didn’t have to think. The foliage split over the walkway in areas seducing your eyes and dragging it into the lush green forest. Sometimes a fallen tree would be carefully placed in your path to give you the feeling of being daring, oh, now you’re climbing. But, there was something missing. It was too, tame.
At the end, I was rewarded with a fenced area to trap you within. It was there to protect you, to control you.
No! This isn’t why we are here, this doesn’t make us human. We are the conquerers of this world, we have claimed this land from its inhabitants. Just like the water tumbling across miles of rivers, falls and streams,
always pushing ahead where it needs to, to be free. We too must push through to get what we need.
It takes us to the edge, a place where we start to fear ourselves. It may not seem like it, but I positioned this shot well enough to hide my hand holding onto the tree behind me with dear life. A few inches in each direction would cause me to tumble into the crashing waters below.
Looking at the falls this close was an experience I will not be able to forget. It is the power of water, a power that shows how truly weak we are. How fragile we are, with one slip, a life would be over.
Remember, no matter how hard you try, you will always get wet. It comes with the territory, to truly seek
something that could seem impossible means you will get dirty. You will get bruised, you will feel sore, and at
times you will feel like you shouldn’t continue. But we both know, the end wouldn’t mean anything if you didn’t really put anything on the line to get there. Right?
So kick forward.
The Moment of Zen
The water, oh man the sound of running water as it flows through a cluster of untouched rocks is what does it. It gives you the feeling of when you hold onto that special someone and they don’t want anything but to be there.
Wild green leaves grow from a fallen tree beside me, half of it sinking beneath the waves as the other half flourishes with all kinds of life. The falls hung just above my head in the background. The crisp mountain air,
the heavy green trees surrounding for all the eye can see, the dim sky held its heated breathe from you.
The crystal clear water cleanses my mind, it flushes away the garbage I’ve been thinking as if it never existed. I wonder if this is what Tibetan monks call the state of Zen.
It sure as hell feels like it.
This. This is it. This is a place I can surely call home.
The Ride
I don’t know what it is
to be honest, the roar of the engine as it moves to my touch. The feeling of cutting through
the wind, disrupting it’s natural flow. Or simply the ability to go anywhere you can see. With an ATV, I see power.
Although I have to say my ATV adventure in Los Cabo, Mexico was a lot better. But, the different atmosphere was exhilarating, the mist and the thickness of the forest was surreal.
And not only did I climb a mountain, I rose above the clouds. For once, I was now the one looking down upon
them.
Power.
The Mountain
This is the mountain, not just any mountain. THE mountain.
A large mist hung over the face of the mountain, it covered a nakedness of trees. But it didn’t matter, every face has a beautiful imperfection, something that makes you, you.
The real beauty laid freely in its heart. It was crystal clear with its intent and true to its ways. At those special times, it would mirror its outer self in its calmness.
Towering trees stood enguard fending off those who searched for it. For it is not something easily given, it must be earned. It must be taken.
This is it, this mountain is where I wanted us to be, to escape. A place where we can belong…
… Just the two of us.
The Lake
In its stillness, the hovering lake watched as the clouds continued roll over the sun above. The wind ripples across the water like an unforgettable song. I sat there and listened to the silence that encompassed the area, there were no screeching of tires, nor clicking from a sea of cell phones.
It was just that, silence and the open air.
It is places like this we search for, a place untouched by the masses, not exploited by the public for greed. It is simply nature in its purest form.
Sure we live busy lives, we surround ourselves and consume endless amounts of data with so much information that we cannot process it all. Taking a break from it all, as like going on a diet, is simply a health check
to reset ourselves.
The End
Humans, we plow through mountains, we cut through waves, we take to the skies and call it our own. It is
what we do, we claim.
Together we are strong, alone we are weak. We all get lost along the way, either we lose something precious, we get our hearts broken, or maybe even a leg. Any hinge in the delicate chain holding us together will throw us off
balance.
The only thing we must do is move forward, we cannot stand still. We must step forth into that shifting abyss we call the future, or perish in our own demise.
Yes, I lost something precious to me recently for reasons I refuse to comprehend. Do I regret committing to it in the first place? No, I took a risk and I own it. I may not have gotten what I wanted, but I have grown from that experience. Will I hold back next time? No, I will only and always jump from that cliff into a full dive down into the waters below. I love the feeling of being consumed by it, the chilling feeling that scorns my body, that feeling of not knowing if I will rise from it or not.
Just go, venture out there and find what is yours.
Then claim it.
Until next time.
P.S. Remember to always stay
safe friends.
