Stillness on Shaking Ground It’s easy to sit complacently within the walls of the world as we know it; however, this complacency can change, as if a gust of wind activates a seed within us and drives us to become nomadic, exploring beyond the safety-security fence we have erected around our existence—not only a physical exploration but an exploration that is psychosocial-spiritual. Yes, after six high-adventure trips to Nepal with detours to Tibet, Bhutan, and India, Olivia recognized that she was a nomad. Being raised in the military didn’t groom her for this wayfarer life, but rather, having an appreciation for the world beyond what she knew. Her deepest karmic connections, including teachers and Gurus, seemed to lie in the East—not in America. However, traveling to the East meant traveling to a different world, especially when it included the Communist country of Tibet (China) and the third world country of Nepal, a severely underdeveloped, poverty stricken, landlocked, and disaster prone country, divided into three distinct topographic areas that each exhibit their own hazardous profiles: steep mountains in the north, hills, and terrain, all subject to volatile weather. It often meant surrendering to a huge learning curve that required functioning without expectation, accepting the unexpected, and settling into spontaneous suspense and adrenalin-producing, cliff-hanging adventure—even when it meant danger. There was a 30-day Maoist-guerilla cease-fire when Olivia first explored Nepal during a time of protracted civil war. She trekked through the top of the world in Tibet while under the scrutiny and surveillance of Communist China, hung prayer flags at Mt. Everest Base Camp in high-speed winds as a storm approached, survived Mt. Everest’s freezing temperatures in a wrongly pitched summer tent, disembarked from a plane moments before it crashed near Lamidanda Airport, killing all passengers on board; traveled on narrow, precarious mountain roads in blinding smog during the blackness of night, and sat on a bungee jump platform in Nepal with a 525 foot plunge. She survived the 7.8 magnitude Gorkha earthquake on April 25 and for 40 days afterwards, which included the 7.3 magnitude Dolakha earthquake on May 12 and over 300 aftershocks, scurried past and dodged in and out of damaged buildings on the verge of collapse; participated in recovery missions for the dead lying beneath rubble, traveled to rural, mountainous villages on a tractor to deliver relief aid to earthquake victims on treacherous roads, replete with grave-producing active landslides, and lived to tell how she survived a thriller action-packed hijacking—not en route from New York to Houston—but with 20 Nepali men, drunk on raksi, in a remote village in the middle of the night. Olivia experienced Nepal through rose-colored glasses: The Land of Exquisite Beauty, The Land of the Majestic Himalayas, The Land of Ancient Art and History, The Land of Grateful Children, The Land of Gorgeous Wives, The Land of Men’s Pointed Hats, The Land of Doting Mothers, The Land of Precious Little Girls, The Land of Nepali Smiles, The Land of Poverty and Bamboo Work Baskets, The Land of Colorful Umbrellas, The Land of Ineffective Government, The Land of Spiritual Strength, and The Land of Betrayal and Kindness. And through all of this, by virtue of her birth into a world of sickness, old age, and inevitable mortality, Olivia was confronted with her own sense of meaning. As she experienced and perceived the dynamics of our world, she went toe-to-toe with the suffering, challenges, and decisions that all beings face, which included the capacity to love deeply and then let go. We have heard the adage that it’s not what happens to us in life—it’s how we deal with it that matters; yet, as “shit happens,” we are ill equipped to understand the complexity of the suffering that we see and feel. We may sink into numbness and denial, believing that suffering will only happen to others. “Perhaps I’ll get lucky and the stray bullet won’t hit me, but him. I won’t get cancer, I won’t get old. I’ll live happily ever after, surrounded by people who love me.” Unfortunately, it is a misconception at the least, and delusion at the most, to believe that stray bullets dodge oneself and hit only others. It is only when freed from denial that we become acutely aware of pain and suffering, and we wish to be free from it. No one will deny that even insects will run from suffering. We all wish for happiness. None of us wish to suffer. Ironically, if we are confused or do not understand the root cause of our suffering, we are clueless about how to alleviate it. We grasp at solutions outside of ourselves that can actually create or exacerbate suffering. At the minimum, some of us are motivated to develop healthy coping skills, which are helpful, but not a cure for suffering. Others choose to self-medicate with prescription drugs, alcohol, nicotine, and recreational drugs that often become addictive. The outcome—we operate on autopilot with an unrelenting loss of freedom. Others reach for Starbucks, chocolate, and “comfort food.” Many choose to blame other people for their pain and suffering, not taking self-responsibility by turning the pointed finger at oneself. Still others simply accept and succumb to occasional joy and suffering as if on a roller coaster, never knowing when the next up or the next down will hit or when the next land mine will detonate. For others, like Olivia, suffering can motivate one to become a wayfarer and search for greater meaning in life. A positive trajectory, and for many, the beginning of a new life experience, begins with a wish for something more––something not seen with the eye––something so deep that a compass seems to point the way in a new direction. There is a tug, a nudge, a knowingness that another perspective will help us make sense of the undertows and currents that have pulled us under on one too many occasions. Carol A. Wilson, Ph.D., is a university professor, author, and Vajrayana practitioner with a nomadic sense of travel and adventure. Stillness on Shaking Ground is published by O Books March 2017. ISBN: 978-1-78535-533-2 (Paperback) £14.99 $22.95. |
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