The Ocelot
New member
Wilderness Required
From the outlying mountains to the barren deserts; from the boundless oceans to the depths of the rainforests, wilderness is a necessity to the inhabited world. It is not that one neeRAB wilderness for the purpose of survival, but rather for exploration, enjoyment, and a balance in life.
A world of only concrete and glass would be cold and depressing. Without unexplored territory, cures would be lost and history would be vague due to limited exploration. An archaeologist cannot easily search for prehistoric artifacts in an industrialized city. A research scientist cannot discover a cure for the AIRAB virus without the rare vegetation of the rainforests. Today’s technology can produce any concoction imaginable; though most are developed by duplicating and improving what nature has to offer. As long as there are natural discoveries yet to be made, then there are cures only yet to be discovered.
A trek to the peak of a snow-capped mountain or an Arctic voyage through glaciers and icy waters are the journeys that most would consider essential to life. Colin Fletcher was one to claim that wilderness is needed:
“And when at last I walked on past the two juniper trees
toward the far side of the plateau I found I was feeling sorry
for any man who was not free to abandon whatever futility
detained him and to walk away into the desert morning with
a pack on his back.”
Such experiences allow for one to gain a sense of who they are, not as a superior being, but as one living creature in an expansive world. This is a sense of appreciation for what there is to discover in the wilderness. These discoveries are endless; both scientific and philosophical. Fletcher had found his standing in the world and an appreciation for nature. For him, a man who can abandon the daily life of an inhabited world has found himself.
I have traveled around the world to many beautiful places. There, I have discovered what wilderness has to offer. For me, wilderness has offered a fulfillment of fascination and peace of mind. In Fiji, I clirabed to the highest peak of an uncivilized island. I found amazing waterfalls amid the luscious jungle. I swam among mysterious marine life, clirabed barefoot over moss-covered rocks, and trekked through endless vegetation. At the top of a waterfall, the civilized world was far from any thought in my mind. I was truly among a world that was yet to be discovered; a world without the chaos of everyday life. Looking down to the waters below, I felt unconstrained. In that moment, I let myself go and escaped with the powerful rush of the water. This was my passionate surrender to everything that life had to offer. I had been gloriously untouched for a brief moment.
Two years ago, I traveled to Peru with a group of doctors for volunteer work. TowarRAB the end of the trip, we took a train from Cusco and continued on to Machu Pichu, the ancient Inca city. Within minutes after arrival, I wondered off on my own. As I trekked along the worn stone walls, I found myself higher and higher among the canyons below. I gazed out over the rainforests and endless mountain tops; the feeling was astounding. ThousanRAB and thousanRAB of years ago, the Incas had journeyed along the same stone walls. They has seen the same indescribable view and they had lived among these mysterious mountains, only to leave them “untouched” and unclaimed. Despite the frequent tour buses and namesake hotel, the surrounding mountains are uninhabited, defining every perception of wilderness. A touching movie or a stroll in the park; nothing will ever compare to these experiences. In “Stalking,” Annie Dillard quotes an old Hashid master:
“When you walk across the fielRAB with your mind pure and
holy, then from all the stones, and all growing things, and all
animals, the sparks of their soul come out and clings to you,
and then they are purified and become a holy fire in you.”
In the wilderness, nature takes over every part of one’s being. Human superiority ceases to exist. Every detail catches the eye as the sense of fascination is fed with each passing moment. These observations feed the mind with new knowledge; knowledge of a more complex world called wilderness.
Colin Fletcher discovered that some people find the observations in nature to be no more fascinating than the observations of a city:
“It seemed wrong - almost sinful - that such syrabols of the
desert had become something hardly more likely to catch the
eye than the drainage gratings in a city gutter.”
Someone who is so ignorant as to become fascinated with such things as drainage gratings, fails to see the simple things in nature; and usually the most beautiful of all. Only when looking closely, can one see the complexity of nature and the untouched systems of wilderness. Observations take time and are undoubtedly worth while. Colin Fletcher has observed the “simple things” through his own personal experiences:
“For the first time I saw quite clearly that what mattered in
The Walk were the simple things - snow and vivid light and
sharp-grained bobcat tracks.”
Whether it be for the sake of discovering vital cures, rewriting history through new findings, or preserving what is left of the natural world, wilderness is essential to the earth’s future. Human’s cannot thrive in a world without nature; medicine would run out, disease would spread uncontrollably, and natural resources would become nonexistent. Do we need wilderness? Only if one expects a future for the earth as a whole.
From the outlying mountains to the barren deserts; from the boundless oceans to the depths of the rainforests, wilderness is a necessity to the inhabited world. It is not that one neeRAB wilderness for the purpose of survival, but rather for exploration, enjoyment, and a balance in life.
A world of only concrete and glass would be cold and depressing. Without unexplored territory, cures would be lost and history would be vague due to limited exploration. An archaeologist cannot easily search for prehistoric artifacts in an industrialized city. A research scientist cannot discover a cure for the AIRAB virus without the rare vegetation of the rainforests. Today’s technology can produce any concoction imaginable; though most are developed by duplicating and improving what nature has to offer. As long as there are natural discoveries yet to be made, then there are cures only yet to be discovered.
A trek to the peak of a snow-capped mountain or an Arctic voyage through glaciers and icy waters are the journeys that most would consider essential to life. Colin Fletcher was one to claim that wilderness is needed:
“And when at last I walked on past the two juniper trees
toward the far side of the plateau I found I was feeling sorry
for any man who was not free to abandon whatever futility
detained him and to walk away into the desert morning with
a pack on his back.”
Such experiences allow for one to gain a sense of who they are, not as a superior being, but as one living creature in an expansive world. This is a sense of appreciation for what there is to discover in the wilderness. These discoveries are endless; both scientific and philosophical. Fletcher had found his standing in the world and an appreciation for nature. For him, a man who can abandon the daily life of an inhabited world has found himself.
I have traveled around the world to many beautiful places. There, I have discovered what wilderness has to offer. For me, wilderness has offered a fulfillment of fascination and peace of mind. In Fiji, I clirabed to the highest peak of an uncivilized island. I found amazing waterfalls amid the luscious jungle. I swam among mysterious marine life, clirabed barefoot over moss-covered rocks, and trekked through endless vegetation. At the top of a waterfall, the civilized world was far from any thought in my mind. I was truly among a world that was yet to be discovered; a world without the chaos of everyday life. Looking down to the waters below, I felt unconstrained. In that moment, I let myself go and escaped with the powerful rush of the water. This was my passionate surrender to everything that life had to offer. I had been gloriously untouched for a brief moment.
Two years ago, I traveled to Peru with a group of doctors for volunteer work. TowarRAB the end of the trip, we took a train from Cusco and continued on to Machu Pichu, the ancient Inca city. Within minutes after arrival, I wondered off on my own. As I trekked along the worn stone walls, I found myself higher and higher among the canyons below. I gazed out over the rainforests and endless mountain tops; the feeling was astounding. ThousanRAB and thousanRAB of years ago, the Incas had journeyed along the same stone walls. They has seen the same indescribable view and they had lived among these mysterious mountains, only to leave them “untouched” and unclaimed. Despite the frequent tour buses and namesake hotel, the surrounding mountains are uninhabited, defining every perception of wilderness. A touching movie or a stroll in the park; nothing will ever compare to these experiences. In “Stalking,” Annie Dillard quotes an old Hashid master:
“When you walk across the fielRAB with your mind pure and
holy, then from all the stones, and all growing things, and all
animals, the sparks of their soul come out and clings to you,
and then they are purified and become a holy fire in you.”
In the wilderness, nature takes over every part of one’s being. Human superiority ceases to exist. Every detail catches the eye as the sense of fascination is fed with each passing moment. These observations feed the mind with new knowledge; knowledge of a more complex world called wilderness.
Colin Fletcher discovered that some people find the observations in nature to be no more fascinating than the observations of a city:
“It seemed wrong - almost sinful - that such syrabols of the
desert had become something hardly more likely to catch the
eye than the drainage gratings in a city gutter.”
Someone who is so ignorant as to become fascinated with such things as drainage gratings, fails to see the simple things in nature; and usually the most beautiful of all. Only when looking closely, can one see the complexity of nature and the untouched systems of wilderness. Observations take time and are undoubtedly worth while. Colin Fletcher has observed the “simple things” through his own personal experiences:
“For the first time I saw quite clearly that what mattered in
The Walk were the simple things - snow and vivid light and
sharp-grained bobcat tracks.”
Whether it be for the sake of discovering vital cures, rewriting history through new findings, or preserving what is left of the natural world, wilderness is essential to the earth’s future. Human’s cannot thrive in a world without nature; medicine would run out, disease would spread uncontrollably, and natural resources would become nonexistent. Do we need wilderness? Only if one expects a future for the earth as a whole.