Connecting with nature

Most of my water cooler conversations on Fridays center around weekend activities.
There are some who ask me,” why do u hike?” and my reply has always been, ”I want to connect with nature”. And invariably the reply has been “I hear you”, a polite nod and we are on our way. When I am among friends, I do tell them how I think this is a spiritual experience and how you learn little bit about yourself every time.

I hiked up Mt.Tamalpais with my friends and we had a minor incident on the way up to the summit, which prompted me to write this. It finally happened, I actually did connect with nature, not just what is around me but with what is in me.

It was a warm, sunny and dry day and we were just half a mile from the summit, when the trail turned rocky. I was leading the pack by a few meters and keeping good pace, with just reaching the peak in mind, when I sensed something move in front of me. Having lived in Arizona I recognized what it was it right away ! I looked ahead to stare right into a big rattle snake slithering across the rocky trail to find the nearest cool crevice it can curl up into. It was hardly six inches away from me and I was the one who felt rattled. At that instant, my instinct was to step back and observe the snake even though some experts would have advised me to not move. And it was at that instant I connected with nature, something human, something primal…FEAR. Fear had swept through me for that one instant when I had stepped back.

I turned back to warn my buddies and we continued on our way up to the summit. We did have another encounter with a smaller rattle snake on the way back down, but this time we were not caught unaware and were mindful of the sinuous reptile.

Why am I writing this now ? Well I just wanted to say, you are what u do, and I firmly believe this makes the difference between whether you exist on the third rock from the sun or actually live on this lovely planet we like to call Mother Earth.

At the risk of sounding philosophical and preachy I just want to say, go out there and do what you want, you will connect with nature, in or out.