Alone in the Wild
I'm back in Los Angeles today. There was much more to my trip up the California coast than what you saw in the photoblog yesterday, but the second half of my trip I was without a camera. (The whole dropping it in the ocean thing.)
Knowing that I would never be able to share what I was seeing with anyone else changed it for me. I was more alone.
Some people are outdoorsy types and some are not, and I'm not saying one is any better than the other. I'm outdoorsy enough to love gardening and watching meteor showers and sitting at the beach, but if you take me camping in cold weather suddenly I'm not so outdoorsy. I'll wear your sleeping bag like a tube dress when you're not using it and be afraid of every shadow. I'll ask that someone please toast me a marshmallow and deliver it to me inside my tent.
So I'm not suggesting that moving somewhere remote and living off the land is especially the path to happiness for you. But I was reminded on the second half of this trip that there's simplicity and truth and logic in nature that is so good for us.
And I love people. Los Angeles is overflowing with impressive creativity, productivity, and collaboration.
But when I spent time thinking about the growing habits of trees when no one's tending to them, or what water and wind and time will do to a rock, it felt nice to my mind. It felt pure in the same way that water tastes so good after drinking soda all day, or silence sounds so good after listening to music for hours of a long road trip.
-Brigitte
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Comments
romeo Friday, March 12, 2010
very beautiful photo!
classic west coast scenery....
looks like poppies and a noble elm tree growing on a dune.. :)
Joe436 Friday, March 12, 2010
I get a lot of power outages where I live, especially during storms. At first I get mad that I can't watch TV or waste countless hours on my computer. But then I start to enjoy the time I get to just lay on my couch and take a nap.
Chris Friday, March 12, 2010
I so get the part about not sharing it, making you feel alone.
Some things are good kept to yourself, like the deer in the movie "Stand By Me," but if it's all kept in, it seems kind of sad.
I've always been a city person, but moved to a small artsy town, and I can't believe how nice it is to have green out every window and deer on every slow drive around the outer edges of the village.
Tao says you can live in the city, but must retreat to nature regularly to stay in peaceful harmony.
Mikhaela Friday, March 12, 2010
I could not agree more! The simplicity of nature just seems to go so well with us. I am loving your good mood blog by the way. They all just make me smile!
Blargal D. Alien Saturday, March 13, 2010
Hello,Brigitte.
Trees,and solitary living things adapt. Being alone is not a choice for them, but the urge to survive,makes them adapt to whatever is available.
Being in the Army, I "adapted" to camping out. It sort of went with the job. We can be open to new experiences, as they help us branch out, much like a tree..