“What is
extraordinary and eternal does not want to be bent by us...” Rilke
I'm due to go walking on Mount Kenya
later this week. I set off from our home in Nairobi on Thursday and
will be on the mountain for 5 days (going up Sirimon route and down
Chogoria, for those of you who know).
My initial thought when the possibility emerged was positive but I went back and forth between being convinced to go for it
to being certain I should stay in Nairobi. Several times. Each day.
Every day for three weeks!
In the end I decided to give it a go. However, I've set myself a specific
purpose. Surprisingly its not reaching the top of Mount Kenya
though I would certainly like to achieve that.
Being defeated by what is extraordinary
As I've been thinking about the climb,
I've been listening to people who have climbed.
People say you have to have a positive attitude and imagine that you
will reach the top.
At the same time I've been struck by one image
that goes around when thinking about climbing mountains - its seems we (men?) are quite drawn to the idea of
conquering mountains.
I'm sure that the notion of
'conquering' a mountain is a helpful motivation for some people but
it strikes me that, at over 5000 meters, Mount Kenya is a pretty
formidable thing. I'm not convinced that I want to defeat
this mountain or take any other sort of war-like attitude towards this
massive thing. Some other ways of relating to more-than-human?
It seems that its quite easy to reach
for images of war when it comes to relating to that which is
neither human or man-made. Just like we want to defeat the Zika virus it seems we like the idea of going to war with mountains.
I want to
explore some other 'images' of my relationship to the mountain. I'm
interested in seeing what happens if I don't use war-like images in
preparation for and whilst I am walking.
What happens if I think of
my climb as being about 'befriending' rather than 'conquering'. How
does my experience change if I'm focusing not upon simply getting to the
top of the mountain but say 'dancing in tune' with it. What happens to the 'success' of my climb if I hold
less “hawkish” metaphors in my head than battle and defeat? Will I be able to make the
climb or will I 'fail'?
Over to you
Perhaps, while you're chilling out at
home or going to the supermarket, you could notice or spend a moment
to reflect on how you relate to that which is neither human or
man-made. Do you relate to it as if its a like a battle between two
opposing sides? Or is there some other way of relating? Let me know what you come up with and then come back here to find out what happened with me.
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Rainer Maria Rilke quote from The Man Watching, translated by Robert Bly in Rag and Bone Shop of
the Heart
