Mid July 2013
I don't like relish and I would certainly never put relish
on a potato, but I did find myself relishing the spud State of Idaho. As I
arrive in Sun Valley I can't help but notice that there is a palpable good vibe
emanating from this place. It brought the idea to mind that perhaps I should
add this place to my list of possible homestead sites. Then I realized my bank
account is probably a zero or two shy of being able to pull that off. Oh well,
I can still enjoy the visit and I will, thank you very much! Making my way
through the Sawtooth National Forest, I stumbled across an unexpected surprise.
Frenchman's Bend Hot Springs and it provided just the right remedy for knocking
off the residue of a dusty ride.
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| My Warm Springs Creek neighbor. |
After soaking up some of Gaia's good ole' natural mineral
waters it wasn't long before I found a campsite. The combination of what I
brought and everything that it provided created a nearly utopian like scene of
simplicity with all the finer things in life that I could possibly ask for at
this time. A comfy chair, a cold beverage, a good book, the warm sun
illuminating the beautiful mountainous forest scenery and a cool babbling brook
all added up to heaven on earth. The lively stream before me was made up of a
seemingly innumerable amount of infinitely sized, shaped and colored stones all
congregating in the bed of the stream as if the mountain waters themselves gave
birth to them. Even the faint smell of wildfire smoke in the air lent itself to
the completeness of the scene by representing the culmination of the life
cycle. Birth, life lived and death. From dust back to dust. Along with all the
glory which occurs throughout that process.
I know I shouldn't talk about stress. After all, what does a
guy who is on sabbatical and gallivanting around the country have to be
stressed about. Well, maybe stress isn't the right word, but throughout these
travels there are, shall we say, certain expectations to be met, even if the
"expecter" is only myself. Inevitably every destination along the way
has some sort of goal in mind which if not met will leave a feeling of failure
or at least incompleteness. It may be seemingly small and arbitrarily
insignificant to someone outside looking in, but none the less, it can gnaw at
you. Maybe it's something someone recommended you "have" to see, or
an expectation you've set for yourself, or simply a thought such as, "I'm
going to this place and by-golly I'm gonna learn something new and take
something concrete away from it".
Admittedly on a trip such as mine these stresses are self imposed, but
that doesn't make them any less real.
So it is times like this one, entering the Sawtooth National
Forest in Sun Valley, Idaho which are extra special for me. Prior to entering
that state of Idaho, I had received not much more than the somewhat common
vegetable sex-education talk conveying that this is where potatoes come from. A couple of people had vaguely
mentioned to me that experiencing Idaho's offerings would be rewarding, but other than that, I
had no itinerary, no expectations and no real plans. As it turns out, this was
one of those times which allows one to forget all about plans, goals and
obligations while instead allowing one to wax philosophical. To experience life
as rarely experienced. To "experience" pure and simple and perhaps receive a glimpse into what life
is really all about, or at least, what it could be.
As the sun set and the coolness of the evening settled upon
the forest valley there was nothing to do! Nowhere to go. No worries to work
out. Nothing to expect, nothing to be disappointed in. There was no question, "To be or not to be?" All there was, was "To
Be"! And it was refreshing. The Warm Springs Creek I was overlooking would flow and continue
to flow, the wind would gently and invisibly cause the grass to sway. The dead
trees would continue standing as if in salute to their former glorious lives
and the living fauna would carry on
living in their honor. And nothing was expected of me, but to stand witness.
What a wonderful honor. No past, no future. Only an inexplicable present there
to be unwrapped and appreciated with presence, concentration and awe of
a child ripping into a Xmas present. A gift, eternally given once, but
never again. To be fully enjoyed now, but never again in the same capacity. At
this moment there is no tomorrow.
Yesterday is but an amnesia like forgotten daydream. My only thoughts
float towards an eternal question: This creek I see before me....."Is it
the same that I spied just a moment ago? Is it different?" The answers like
the unceasing flow of its waters flood in: "No, it is not the same. Yet it
is." Congruently and conversely,
"Yes it is different and yet the same!" My mind spins in
infinite eddies not unlike the movement of the creek I sit before as the sun
sets and darkness descends. A darkness which try as it might can not overshadow
the light which has shown today. A light which will continue to shine, night
and day, if only we open our eyes to see.
For Photos and Videos please check out the following links:
Facebook (Just a sampling to wet the appetite before eventually
posting to my Photography website)
1 comment:
Nothing is the same now. What it was a second ago is no more.
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