In a time where I was struggling mentally to cope with general abysmal life related events – I would train hard, and vividly imagine myself on a mountainside in Nepal. I was naked but I couldn’t feel the cold. I was tired but relentless in my steps. Mindset sharp; plowing forth into a new body, prying myself from the carcass of an old self that was no longer serving me. I would climb the stair machine into rocky terrain and beyond, above to the snowy abyss. A few months later, there I was. Blooming. Presently, the inner visual landscape has changed but the motivation is renewed – complacency breeds weakness and idleness brings no growth. The penrose steps of growth morph once more. Keep climbing.
I sit in a smoky, crowded room 4800m high in the Nepal Himalayas. In my headphones, Ludovico Einaudi plays like honey to my ears. In the background, the voices of Nepalese, Spanish, Israeli and English intermingle. I am a witness to life. People gather around the cylindrical fireplace, equal faces of happiness and exhaustion. Some here because they are paid to be, some for adventure, reprieve or healing. I have walked through the mountains for a week and tomorrow we pass Thorung La, at nearly 5416m. I have crossed rivers and with altitude, traversed many different terrains with a rainbow of flora and fauna. I’ve been very uncomfortable, in body and mind. I’ve also found more acceptance, appreciation and patience for myself and the world around me.
This is meagre excerpt of the deep reverence I have always had for nature, increased by my time in the mountains. Before I came, I set a trajectory here to fertilize some soul soil. To challenge my sense of self. To be okay with being alone in one of the most remote places in the world. To help solidify the mastery of my own mind and emotions; where I will always be a sojourner in a foreign land. I envisaged nourishing my soul with mental and physical challenges, in an ever-evolving endeavour for growth. What was a physically taxing journey was all the more mental for me. My muscles were nothing compared to the storm raging inside my mind.
In nature, you find more than you ever thought you were looking for.
With infinite love for this beautiful world.
I have a thirsty soul Quenched by the colours of the world (Satiated by love)
Kaleidoscopic Life; In its many faces Eyes speaking stories of universal human experience Those you And I Know well
Relative are our experiences But no less valid Suffering and happiness Yin and yang Chaos and order
On this plane we meet Where souls recognize one another Themselves reflected An unavoidable dichotomy The ebb and flow of our existence
My soul yearns – For the gradual awakening of a deep night sky A slow dialled gradient Where first light glints Over oceans Or beams over mountain tops
I have a thirsty soul! A heart that dreams Of snow dusted mountains Mottled stone walls Staggered and sheer Protruding from their icy encasement
Pine trees perched on pinnacles Exposed cliff edges Rivers that churn and rage Creeks that trickle Water as the lifeblood of seed Seed to flower Flower to fruit
Awe
Mother Earths sheer totality Air fire earth and water Together they mould And balance our everchanging Earth
I dream of underwater worlds Life aplenty Myriads of coral cities And creatures of the deep Of desert landscapes Harsh and arid Where nature is most cruel and unforgiving
My soul pleads for diversity For every creature to flourish For coexistence with the natural world For harmony
A soul that yearns and a heart that dreams But in nature Mind body and soul Unifies
Under a labrynthine lush canopy Where light filters in between carefully crafted leaves Where soft wind whispers through trees Fingers of the universe sounding carefully selected piano notes of natural wonder Warm light endows each leaf Exhibiting each fragile vein in their perfect creation
life of elouise 