Weathered - Intention Is Everything…
It is said that wisdom comes with age, and I certainly qualify for having aged.
Just like a giant granite boulder weathers through exposure to much “softer” elements, so does my perspective through continual exposure to experience and insight.
There are a few specific insights which have gained prominence over the recent decades, and I suspect it could be of value to you too…
Set objectives, hone skills, understand, strategise and plan, then go out there and MAKE it happen. Be the designer of my own destiny so to speak...which, after attaining this wisdom still rings true...but with a counter-intuitive twist.
My intention was always to outwit the leopard, find hunting lions or deliberately mould an experience to quite narrow and prescriptive outcomes with my appreciation and enjoyment, beholden to the achievement of said objectives.
Due to the nature of nature, I however found frustration and disappointment as constant companions. A sense of being insufficient for the “task” of subjugating nature into a neatly packaged experience for my guests (whose expectations I unrealistically elevated through my hubris), undermined not only my own, but also their joy.
What started the dissolution was a realisation that the quantity and awe-fullness of our experiences were not necessarily proportionate to the effort or skills invested.
Slowly at first I started relinquishing control...or more accurately, the illusion thereof.
Instead of setting out to find elephants or buffalo on any given day, I would select specific geographical destinations as the focal point of an outing.
A stunning little koppie (rocky outcrop), a massive riparian forest or even just a scenic stretch of river became the piece-de-resistance and everything else, the contributing cast. It was all about the landscape!
Sporadically stopping to marvel at seemingly inconsequential subjects like a magnificent tree or noisy bird-party, we would suddenly be surprised by the appearance of a leopard or distant snap of a branch to indicate the presence of eles or even just the subtle play of light against backlit leaves or buzzing insects around newly emerging blossoms.
Our experience grew richer in diversity and joy as most often we would not be anticipating the little treasures discovered.
What occurred to me was that instead of attempting to TAKE from nature what I thought I wanted, I was in fact (when receptive) randomly gifted a staggering array of deeply meaningful and intimate moments. I also realised that this gifting had always been there, but wasn’t recognised as such until now that my intention shifted from looking “for”, to looking “at”.
The act of “taking” is born of narrow selfish want, whilst receiving, one of open gratitude to the gifting...choose wisely...we are after all the designers of our own destiny...
I would thus like to invite you to introspectively examine the narrow as well as expansive nature of expectation and attempt to embrace a possibility with a horizon much farther than the eye can see.
Yours in grateful receiving,