Whether a romantic at heart, or of a scientific ilk, ultimately we all draw on the same unconscious reservoir of images, of myth, of - hopefully - bold imagination.
To find wonder in wherever we find ourselves without having to be ‘fed the facts’; always too eager, perhaps, for ‘information’. The real treasures of this world are seldom found there…they are to be found in unrestrained imagination, in reminding ourselves we are unlimited, able to imagine beyond the literal, beyond our limited senses - to find curiosity again in the seemingly mundane, in the most simple…it’s there, every moment.
These moments of magic - a full moon rising on a desert landscape; being mesmerised by the starry sphere of the Milky Way, or dawn breaking in colours so poignant it evokes strong, long forgotten emotions of carefree, unhurried days, of a time not quite forgotten….almost as if we had ‘gone out’ into a different reality. A reality that is indescribable yet not altogether imperceptible. Information has no part in these experiences….neither do mere words, for that matter.
In coming away, we find our tongues tied, incapable of expressing what was essentially an ineffable experience and we find our photographs haven’t quite captured that moment of magic.
Here fantastic beasts could roam, myth and legend are alive and walk the earth….if we let them. It is for us to find how to live in both worlds - bringing our bold imagination along for the ride. To be brave, bold, and unfettered again.
In the depths of this desert solitude we find what the ancient Greeks called Sympatheia…a connectedness to something greater than ourselves. There is a realisation that we are all mutually inter-woven, having an affinity, not only with each other, but with the whole fabric of the cosmos - it breathes us.
Too easy it is to focus on a subjective ‘me’….instead of seeing ourselves as an intricate part of the whole ever-moving dance. Seeing our actions and thoughts sending out ripples of consequence and noticing what returns. For we are the creators of our own universe and what we are is what reflects back at us.
Be bold, be imaginative and be aware of what you share in the weaving of your world - in that lies what you will become….
It helps, when coming on safari in these places a myth and legend, to bring a good dose of humility along and be open to the possibility of experiencing Sympatheia…giving permission for it to unfold and you simply follow… what an adventure that would be!