Eventual goals like Tiger Nest Monastery are on my bucket list, with so many more besides. But why? Frankly, life is a beautiful thing for me. I get most things I want within reason, but I have found that working several hours to find a thing of true beauty is an incredible sensation and provides a space of peace that I haven't otherwise found. God only knows what I could possibly experience with discoveries as amazing as Bhutan, Bali, Patagonia, Alaska, Iceland, and my own backyard, the western North Carolinian Blue Ridge.
However, it takes time and work ... swimming is a requirement, I found out, for most rough and long distance trails. Rock climbing is equally common. Both of these are challenging to me as there is a certain level of fear I have with each .... but I suppose that the accomplishments of learning them and then applying them will make the victory all the sweeter.
Really, it's an investment of time that adds value and a sense of accomplishment. Not just a mental investment, but one of your whole body. The strength that has finally been returning to me since my martial art days now that I've hired a personal trainer has stirred dusty memories, and reminded me that no, it's not really that cool to sit in front of a computer for hours and days on end. Careers are good, and a sense of balance of mental, emotional, and physical is even better.
For those who know me, I realise there is plenty of eye rubbing and re-reading because I'm more of the belief that the extent of camping is using organic soap overlooking a gorgeous desert in a five star resort. Don't worry, that appreciation of living isn't gone, but I'm very interested in expanding that perspective into new paradigms of living.
So, hiking, climbing, and swimming....that's shocking enough.... However, there's more! After reading the Wall Street Journal article on fly fishing, I made it nearly to the end before I had ordered the book it was presenting (kudos to that journalist!).
Regardless if I ever end up being a fly fishing guru, I was captured by the author's words when he said "we are unwilling, or unable, to put in the 10,000 hours needed to become a master fisher, hunter, or mountain climber. Instead of, we load up with all the latest stuff and hire guides to do everything for us...." (p. 9). He then went to cite Sheridan Anderson from The Curtis Creek Manifesto (on my reading list after this book) who said "The higher purpose of practicing a sport such as fly fishing, hunting, or mountain climbing is to affect a spiritual and physical gain. But is the process is compromised, there is no transformation" (Chouinard, Mathews, & Mazzo, 2014, p. 9).
This completely captured my soul. Being a doctoral student in methodologies for empowering personal transformation within adult learners, it struck me. There is no short cut. Our culture is so good about acceleration and aids to allow us to skip the steps performed in ages past. Don't worry, I'm not suggesting that our fast paced world is bad, or even wrong...but we will get different results. I do believe that we can't, as individuals, forget the value of slowing down to become true experts in something that requires practice. It is a personal responsibility to take the time necessary to figure out who you are ... not in the land of the woo woo, but just so you know what drives you, what heals you, what hurts you, what thrills you, and what satisfies you.
