Fri, 03 May 2024 20:50:24 -0700WeeblyMon, 21 Feb 2011 17:54:29 GMThttp://sacredparks.org/jessicas-blog/into-the-quiet One of the things I like the most about getting out into nature, either on a hike or other form of transportation is that 99% of the time I have a moment of epiphany.  Typically my journey will start out with me focusing on the mechanics of the trip.  Are my shoes tied tight enough?  Am I dressed comfortably?  Why are my pants clinging to my leg?  Is my camera going to be safe if I run into bad weather?

Random thoughts like that. 

Then I typically begin to think, and sometimes think out loud about whatever problem(s) I happen to be facing at that particular time in my life.  Where will my career lead me?  How will I handle a difficult situation with a coworker?  What if I’m not successful?  Why are all my friends getting married and I’m still single?  Well, maybe that last question has something to do with the fact that I talk to myself on the trail. 

Anyway, I think and I think and then all of a sudden, the thoughts stop.  My brain shuts down.  I become so consumed with the beauty and the mystery of the wilderness that all my cares suddenly feel as far away as the trailhead.

In the recreation field there is a something called the Theory of Flow developed by Dr. Mike  Csikszentmihalyi.  It states, roughly, that when a person isn’t challenged enough they will become bored and wish to disengage from the activity.  If a person is too challenged, they will become frustrated and want to disengage from the activity.  Yet if a person is challenged just enough, just past their normal comfort level, they will want to continue to be engaged in the activity.  You’re so into whatever you’re doing that time and space are suspended.  You’re lost in your own little world.

And when you’re lost in that little world, your mind is in a more meditative state.  It’s ideal for that little voice to come along and give you the bit of wisdom you so desperately crave.  It’s that “Aha” moment or epiphany, and suddenly the solution to your problem seems very clear. 

I started hiking years ago because the trail would lead me to something I was “supposed” to see like a waterfall or mountaintop view. Along the way I realized that it wasn’t always about the destination but about the journey.  During my adventures I found I would receive some amount of the help I needed and prayed for.

I feel God created a large planet full of places of natural beauty so we would have places we are meant to see and connect with one another. Places designed to calm the soul and open the mind. Places where God can come to and speak to us in those quiet moments when we are in the wilderness. 

]]>Sat, 08 Jan 2011 15:31:24 GMThttp://sacredparks.org/jessicas-blog/one-shotOn a recent hike I ran into the problem of not having enough memory on my camera to take unlimited pictures.  I also neglected to bring my telephoto lens so for someone who likes photography I was in essence “struggling”.  I was rather upset about both dilemmas but kept frantically deleting old pictures to free up some memory while trying not to upset the white-tailed deer I was standing nearby in the process. I was able to free up enough memory for a few last pictures along the trail.  The big buck I saw earlier had now returned and I really wanted to try and get a clear picture of him.  But not having a telephoto, I wouldn’t be able to get a close up of him.  I would have to settle for the wide angle shot.  Was it even worth it? 

When I got home and put the pictures onto my computer, I found out that yes, it was worth it.  The picture of the elusive majestic buck among the trees from a distance turned out, for me, to capture everything I enjoyed about the hike and the encounter with the white-tails.

Can you remember a time when you've been limited in your picture-taking capabilities...a time when you couldn't get that "one shot" you wanted in the moment? In hindsight, did you find instead that you got the picture that you needed? How did that moment change your memory of the hiking experience?


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