To transform our lives and realize our deepest strengths the most important skill is learning. We need to learn what we truly stand for in order to live boldly, and a greater understanding of our world helps us be effective in our lives. As we are constantly flooded with information and conflicting perspectives, finding our truth is a difficult and sometimes confusing process. Thankfully, nature always steers us towards truth.
Learning can be a bit like fighting a rising tide. The questions we try to answer often lead to a dozen other questions, and when we test our assumptions they often crumble. It seems like every time we “learn” something it’s only a matter of time before we find ourselves unlearning it. This is often true even for what is most close and personal to us: our knowledge of ourselves. Some of us (perhaps many of us) spend much of our lives working for certain things only to one day discover that these things were not actually meaningful to us. Given the amount of effort we put in and suffering that we all endure in life, it’s worth putting effort into knowing ourselves so that we can focus on what matters.
The well-paved path set by our modern learning institutions trains us to be cogs in a modern world but doesn’t tend to connect us with ourselves and with nature. This model of developing people seems pretty dangerous for a society using resources at an apparently unsustainable rate and facing a potentially deadly climate crisis. In addition, our ability to be effective in our modern roles (or to transform our roles entirely) depends largely on our ability to question reality and to reimagine and reshape stories. The more we can step outside of our reality the better we can do this, but so long as our educations stay within the assumptions and concepts of our culture our power to do so is limited. On an individual level, being disconnected from ourselves is a sad way to live and can lead to depression, anxiety, emptiness, boredom, and other forms of suffering.
Fortunately, we have plenty of opportunities to supplement our formal educations. Outdoor athletic endeavors and training can help us build a stronger relationship to our own truth and to the lessons that nature offers. Our most essential truths and our clearest perceptions often reveal themselves to us in nature. It is always helpful to remind ourselves of our animal nature and of the power of our planet. As we immerse ourselves in nature’s athletic dance we can separate our own truth from beliefs that aren’t helping us, and we can learn new ways of looking at things. The transition from being a corporate lawyer to founding Indigenous Strength has been a gradual process during which I’ve had to let go of many perceptions and beliefs, learn many new things, and connect on a deeper level with myself. In this process, nature has always been there to teach and guide me. Nature never leaves us in the dark; the sun always rises to shine light for us.
The process of learning our own truth based on nature’s guidance happens largely without conscious thought. Unhelpful beliefs or perspectives may wash away naturally as we engage with nature and pursue our inspiration. This is largely a result of contrast. The exhilaration and cleansing harmony that we experience as we ride a wave is nothing like the frenzied overwhelm many of us face in modern life. This contrast allows us to build healthier perspectives on the parts of our lives that aren’t working well or that bring us suffering, and these parts may even fall away altogether. The more we practice this, the better we get at steering toward inspiration and reshaping areas of our lives that aren’t bringing us fulfillment.
There are times that call for more reflection and thought to interpret nature’s messages. Sometimes it’s pretty obvious; when we experience joint pain, it is generally an indication that we have some unnatural movement patterns or physical imbalances that need some corrective attention. The messages can also be more subtle. It is helpful to focus closely on what we notice in our natural environment, what is happening in our athletic lives, and where our inspirations are pulling us. Inspirations to surf exotic beaches, to scale dangerous icy peaks, or to push our limits in endurance trail races are all telling us different messages and they usually relate to our broader lives as well. When we experience frustration or anxiety in our training or athletic pursuits, this may call for an adjustment in strategy which may also be closely linked to the other challenges in our lives. If we are feeling major burnout, it’s probably time for a substantial life change and nature has probably been sending us all sorts of guidance that we are ignoring. It helps to tune in and listen to the deeper messages that are revealing themselves to us in our outdoor athletic pursuits.
Today we are out of touch with relating directly with nature and learning from its cues. We can help guide and learn from each other as we work to redevelop this ability. It is helpful to listen to and study the perceptions and experiences of others, particularly people who have interacted more with nature than us, as we learn to better understand nature’s insight. However, it’s important to remember that other people (including me, of course) and books are just secondary sources and interpreters with their own limitations, flaws, and personal interests. The most critical part of seeking natural truth is actually experiencing nature deeply and broadly. There are thousands of lessons to learn, some in moments of serenity and others in moments of intense challenge and primal fear.
Spending our lives largely in our heads, sitting still, and sheltered from nature limits our path to truth. We can read a thousand books, attend the most prestigious universities, interact with a thousand experts, spiritual leaders, and sages, and we will gain many different and interesting perspectives. However, nature remains our most powerful teacher and our deepest truth will always flow through our beating animal hearts.
Comments