It works! On the hill up to Lobuche, I made concerted efforts to try and put my thoughts into practice. I generated gratitude for where I was. I took efforts to clear my mind, which allowed me to deepen my appreciation of both the boulders strewn all over the hill I was climbing, and the larger panorama of snowy Himalayan peaks it was a part of. I had no ego related to forging ahead to reach my destination quicker, which let me be content with the climb – labored breathing and all – instead of occupying my thoughts with getting to Lobuche and drinking hot tea.
This all culminated at the memorial site for fallen climbers. Prayer flags linked many stone temples, bearing plaques with names and accomplishments of people who lost their lives in their attempt to summit Everest. I became overwhelmed with…something. Being in the presence of memorials that honored people who followed their dreams so intensely it ultimately led to their demise… made me feel something. Overwhelmed with awe perhaps that some people have a sense of purpose, direction and effort so strong it leads them to live extraordinary lives. Lives I haven’t an inkling of desire to imitate, yet extraordinary nonetheless. For myself, some lateral drifting seems like a fine course of action to take at the moment, but perhaps one day after some more experiences and growing, I’ll feel comfortable adopting a purpose so strong.
The prayer flags also had some weird, indescribable effect on me. I always knew their meaning, to spread good Buddha vibes through the wind that raps on them all day and night, but I never really comprehended this. Suddenly, the meaning of these multi-colored cloths attached to strings seemed like the most beautiful idea in the world. With the Travelers Key in hand, these flags were completely different than they ever were. The combination of memorials and flags summoned such an intellectual and emotional wave, I was a few degrees away from tears.
I could’ve stayed there for hours, but fortunately Robert was standing around on the trail ready to go, kindly reminding me (Even though I kept him waiting quite a bit…), that if we didn’t hurry up a bit we probably wouldn’t be able to find an open room at the next village. I tried to hang on to the “moment” I was having for a bit longer, but the Traveler’ Key lost it’s power. The prayer flags became cloth and the memorial turned back into stones. I walked off to Lobuche.
So, the Traveler’s Key does exactly what I wanted it to do. It heightened my senses and awareness. It brought me to the “now”. It made what has already been an indescribably amazing experience even better.
Still, the end of the experience brings up an important point I hadn’t considered. First let me say this. Recently, I’ve been trying to follow where I think my “soul” is telling me to go. Less mystically I’ve just been trying to listen to my intuition. Even less mystically, I’ve just been trying to quiet my thoughts and do what I, want to do, instead of my ego or sometimes circular thought processes..
To this point I don’t know of any link between the Travelers Key and soul/intuition, but there seems to be one. At the prayer flags my intuition was telling me stay, admire and simply be there. I listened, I kept the Traveler’s Key in the back of my head and the results were magnificent. Then I was reminded that even if I was having a great time, I better get a move on unless I wanted to sleep outside in the Himalayas at 16,000 feet elevation. Things became less magical.
While it seems that following your egoless wishes helps strengthen the Key, external pressure that pushes you away from following these feelings seems to bend it, rendering it useless in unlocking the secrets it holds. If the freedom of the Himalayas and worldwide traveling presents enough pressure to bend the Key, I have a lot of work to do heading back to normal life.
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