Together with the land and other beings

Where does one start with such a meaningful and transformative experience, maybe by seeing the learning as a journey of self discovery.
For me it requires inner reflection and witnessing my journey over many years, a journey that deepens my connection to nature and the knowing that I am embedded, part of nature and that nature and I are not separated, or foreign to each other.
One of my first conscious encounters with a place happened in the Canadian subarctic region in northwestern Canada above the Arctic Circle. It started with a boat trip on the Mackenzie River. Upon my arrival in Inuvik for a visit with my brother, who waited for me at the Inuvik airport with his good friend Alestine, who later become my wife, I was told by my brother that I will be going with Alestine to her traditional fish camp to help her with setting up the camp and with all that was needed in running a good fish camp on the land.
After we waited for a few days, the weather improved and we loaded Alestine’s boat and headed up river. I was shocked when Alestine pointed at the outboard motor and told me to drive the boat, my first thought was: SHE IS ABSOLUTELY OUT OF HER MIND. The size of the river made me uncomfortable and the realization that due to the river’s size and light conditions I could not tell where the shore ends and where the water begins did not make matters easy. After about 40 miles or so on the river we arrived at the location where we were to set the fish camp. To me it looked exactly the same as any other spot along the river. Alestine knew the spot well, she used to fish there with her father and this spot was known for many many years as a good fishing spot due to an eddy that provided the fish with a resting spot and a good place to set a net.
Spending about one month at the fish camp with Alestine and traveling on the river brought many new feelings and experiences to me. The camp was very remote and it absolutely felt as though we were the only people left on the face of the earth; it was us, the wind, birds, fish, plants and many other beings like bears, wolves, moose who we shared the land with, or more accurately we were visiting their territory. This place, over many summers of fishing, made me more aware of my place in nature and more accepting of the mystery of life. This place made me feel humbled and full of gratitude as I realized that all I needed for my existence is provided by nature. And it is with my skills and deep sense of belonging that it is my duty to live in good relationships with it. If I take care of nature by knowing that my existence is totally dependent on it and by showing respect to all other beings, I believe that no harm will come my way.
About a month before me and Alestine are leaving to go to our fish camp, we start to mentally connect with the Animals who are the keepers of the land where our fish camp is located. We assure them that we will be there only for a few weeks and ask them to do a detour around the camp and not interfere with our activity. We tell them that when we leave, we will leave them a gift of dry fish and fish backbones that is prepared especially for them in a spot above our camp as gratitude for their cooperation and understanding.
Last summer there was a family of four wolves who had their den on a hill above our fish camp. On one of our first mornings there, Alestine went out of our tent and called me telling me that we had a Wolf visiting us. As I came out of the tent, I saw the most beautiful Wolf, maybe two or three meters away. When I looked into the Wolf’s eyes I felt his essence, his spirit and the feeling was very deep and powerful and I knew that I was in contact with a conscious being. I was in total awe, as for me, I encountered something that is so pure and full of spirit. Looking into the Wolf’s eyes in the early morning and the deep feeling of connection and feeling a part of something that is much larger than myself was similar to being inside the most beautiful cathedral I ever visited. Maybe even deeper as the only sounds around were from the wind moving among the trees.
In reflecting on my Learning From The Land, I realize the depth of my transformation, that the land and unspoiled nature, “wilderness” inspired in me, from a young at times confused man who felt lost and was looking for a meaning in what he perceived as a meaningless existence and loneliness into an older me, who is connected to nature who feels a deep connection to the cosmos, knowing that he is part of a great mystery full with intelligence.
As I remember my experience on my first trip to the jungle in Ecuador a few years ago, I remember feeling very uncomfortable. For the first two weeks, as I was in an environment that was so unfamiliar to me, I realized that this may be one of the keys in extending my connection to myself and others by staying open and curious to the unfamiliar I was in the midst of. Being in the jungle, witnessing the full cycle of life as the jungle was full with plants who died and new plants were growing straight out of the decay, the endless sounds of birds and the movement of ants and other animals, and every afternoon like clock work, the thunder storms and rain, embedded deeper in me a knowing that we all are part of a cycle and enabled me to be a much more accepting and compassionate human being. Every time that I was able to stay open, curious and accepting of a place, even at times when I was not comfortable, as in my first trip on the river or the first two weeks in the jungle in Ecuador, contributed for myself becoming more a part of this that is larger than ME. And when I looked into the Wolf’s eyes on an early August morning, I felt a deep connection and kinship with him and was deeply touched by this experience.
Looking back, I would never have guessed that my journey of deep self discovery and forming a deep connection with the world I am part of would start with a boat trip to a fish camp by being told to drive a boat up a river, a river so large and foreign to me at the time of my first ever river journey.
I was born and raised in Israel. In my mid-twenties I left Israel in search of meaning and to feel I belong in a place. This journey brought me to North America, first to California with my first wife and her three children then to northern Canada to a place above the Arctic Circle where I met and married Alestine, an indigenous woman. Today we live in the Yukon. When I reflect on my life with Alestine and living with her in a small indigenous community above the Arctic Circle, I realize and am grateful to her and her community as I have learned so much about living from one’s heart.
OpenEdition schlägt Ihnen vor, diesen Beitrag wie folgt zu zitieren:
Ety (11. Dezember 2024). Together with the land and other beings. Kontrapunkte. Abgerufen am 14. Februar 2025 von https://doi.org/10.58079/12w5e