Rob and I woke up at 6, bags packed and ready to tackle the 18,500 ft Kala Pattar. Mother Earth had different plans for us though, as she sent us a full-blown Himalayan blizzard. We decided to eat breakfast, consult with the other groups and decide what to do. My feet and ego were telling me to go forward, but my heart (or perhaps just common sense) was telling me stay inside. I was hoping the other groups were thinking similarly, making it easier to justify staying in for the day with my trekking buddy, but to my surprise and concern, almost everyone was plowing onward in the throes of the blizzard. Still, I wasn’t going to let the actions of others drown out what my heart was telling me, so we firmly decided to stay in for the day.
What a wonderful thing that intuition turned out to be. I had a fantastic day.
I wrapped up the book I was working on, “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”. Some of the philosophy was a bit over my head, but I loved reading about his idea of Quality. I remember after reflecting on The Alchemist, I thought that it seems there is some aspect of self, lying outside pure reason, logic and thought, which if listened to, just might provide direction and purpose for the individual. Back in Kathmandu, when I wondered what to do with myself, I just quieted my thoughts, and did whatever my heart told me to do. It wasn’t though, it wasn’t logical, but it was certain something.
In this book, Prisig’s main idea, Quality, is a real part of the human experience that has been drowned out by Greek methods of reason and logic we’ve adopted in society. I would probably do a poor job of fully explaining his idea of Quality, but at a basic level it’s a fusion of subject and object, mind and object. It’s an experience that can’t be defined, and because it defies logic and reason, science and the modern man doesn’t acknowledge it.
For the first time since I’ve been five years old, I’m not in an academic institution that generally holds reason and logic above all else. The indefinable and irrational hold no place in the classroom. Now, with a temporary vagabondish lifestyle, I can give these things the attention I believe they deserve. I’m not sure if this will amount to anything, but a bit of exploration into the soul feels like the right thing to do.
Back to what we actually did that day.
Just as my mind was becoming tired from a meaningful conversation with a Spanish couple, the snow ceased and the clouds cleared up. Following my heart led to my mind getting its fill and now it was my body’s turn. I zipped up my down jacket, snatched my hiking poles and reminded myself the tenets of the Travelers Key – Gratitude. Clear Mind. Seeing mind. Egolessness – and headed up a hill overlooking the village. It snows plenty in Flagstaff, but I never really had the time or motivation to really immerse myself in it. Here, scrambling up slippery boulders, plowing through fresh snow, I was in it. Reaching the crest of the hill revealed quite a remarkable scene. The mountains, which usually honor only the peaks with snow, spread the distinction to their whole being and the rocky hillside below. It was amazingly beautiful. With the Travelers Key in hand, I almost cried for the second time in as many days
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I listened to my heart that day. I held on to the Traveler’s Key that day. It turned out to be quite the day.
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