NEW ZEALAND
Easy
Relaxation
IS FLAVORLESS.
IS FORGETTABLE.
HIKING IS A CONVERSATION WITH THE EARTH
If more people today participated in this dialogue, as their ancestors did, contemporary society might regain its bearings.
Solitude enhances our appreciation of wilderness. Why?
Because other people remind us of ourselves, which is what we're out there to let go of.
We depart civilization and stride into wilderness to forget ourselves.
To meld with something bigger than ourselves. We do it for the same reason meditators close their eyes:
TO BE ALONE WITH THE SOURCE
Nature fathoms and responds to your recognition.
In the sea of distraction
be an island of awareness.
Hiking is full-body contact with the unknown.
Identifying the genus or species of a flower is very different than just being with it, appreciating its hues, patterns, textures, complexity, vulnerability, tenacity. Objectifying nature prevents the wonder of it from touching your soul.
With infinite patience and dazzling eloquence,
nature keeps imploring us to
shut up and pay attention.