Adventure and Wisdom
A journal entry by Jane
@rockmeetssoil
2.17.16
Why do I crave change so much?
I daydream constantly about the world and all the people on it. I am so fascinated by what is perceived as “normal” or by what others are “used to.”
As I sit here traveling from Miami to Los Angeles, one ocean to the other in a matter of hours, my heart beats steady, slightly fast. What an amazing thing to be able to cover so much distance in so little time, and yet I wonder about all the people who live below me, 28,000 feet down. I find myself wishing I was making this journey down there, moving slowly, perhaps in a car or on foot, allowing me to get a better look at the normalcy of someone else’s life, of all the lives of all the someone elses. What is it about these differences that intrigues me so much, that makes my heart beat a little faster just thinking about it? Perhaps it is my mind wanting to learn what my heart already knows and has always known: that we are all one and of the same. My dualistic, judgmental mind is starting to soften and unify and reconnect as I uncover more and more of the truths of my and your existence.
These thoughts consume me sometimes; thoughts of how the myriad external differences of our situations influence us in ways that actually make us all the more similar, as we each attempt to understand why we are here and what our purpose is. But it is these differences that I physically ache to understand and experience myself, not just through the words and photos of others. What are the external factors that mold and refine each individual, all seven billion of them: climate, landscape, degree of technological advancement and economic level, ease of transportation, religion, tradition, proximity to other influential cultures, access to nutritional food and clean water, etc. etc. The variations are infinite in a world full of diversity. I find myself desiring to go everywhere, to all corners of the world and far off places to see, to experience, and to understand all the ways of life.
It’s almost common sense to me now to think about the fact that everything alive is one and the same, made up of the same elements that compose the various combinations of minerals and organic matter. And that if this is true, then everything alive must have come to be in some sort of similar manner, that as everything is created, it grows to a climax of energy and then begins to dissolve back into the simple elements of which it was created, to then be absorbed into the next creation of life. This full circle of creation, growth, dissolution, and re-creation actually makes perfect sense to me; just as a circle simultaneously begins and ends, so too do the infinite energies of life circulate through all living things, always beginning and always ending. Nothing is created, nothing is destroyed. So in essence, each of the seven billion human beings as well as all the plant and animal life from the largest to the microscopic, all come from the same stuff. We are all one, as the individual elements that make us up are the same, just being used in different combinations, forms, and intensities. now with that thought, How can we continue to see others as better or worse than ourselves?
Though what creates these seemingly monumental differences between us is not our aesthetic variations or diversity of form, but the external influences of our lives that have given rise to the individual “self” of the mind. The practical mind then creates divisions between us and judgments and classifications of people to better understand and organize such differences. It is here that we have allowed these divisions in our minds to win over the knowing in our hearts of the universal oneness of everything.
It is these external factors of the world that I find myself completely fascinated with. More than anything I want to immerse myself in all the cultures of the world to experience firsthand what makes people act and think the way they do, what influences their habits and ways of life. I want to understand the Earth and its varied climates and landscapes and see what they can teach me about life. The Earth has been around a hell of a lot longer than man; of course it has so much to teach us. The rhythms, cycles, and order of the natural world all have purpose and are all connected and necessary to one another; we need to learn from this.
Mankind is only a guest on the planet anyway, we do not own it…the Earth owns us! It provides the basic elements of which we are created. What endless lessons it can teach us if we take the time to travel, listen, and learn. these thoughts Are where I find my inspiration and passion, my true heart’s desire, my personal legend. They are what move me to travel and to create constant change in my life. The river is always changing, and yet it is always the same water. This is a profound thought to meditate on. I aspire to be like the river; I wish to allow the diversity of the Earth to refine me and influence me in ways that cultivate the wisdom of oneness. I become more whole when I travel, when I follow my flow, and each time I return from a trip my heart feels fuller and more compassionate and understanding. And at the same time aches to continue the exploration, because the world is huge and abundant in what it can teach us, and with such an inexhaustible supply of adventure and wisdom, my thirst for change is insatiable.
These are the thoughts that I like to get lost in. This is how I find my flow in the current of all of the energies of life.
"When you have an intense contact of love with nature,
or another human being, you understand that there is no time and that everything is eternal."
-- Paulo Coelho