A walk in the mountains: a reverie
In my youth, my primary love in the natural world was the ocean. Born on the wild West coast of South Africa, I've always felt an affinity for the icy Atlantic that no other natural place could touch. As the years have passed, though the ocean still holds a major share in my heart, other forms of wilderness have intruded and slowly claimed their own small place within me. I've been surprised by the realization that mountains now move me almost as much as the sea. That quiet alpine meadows and rugged snowed-in peaks call to me now with a siren voice that matches the roaring blue.
There is something tremendously inviting about the depths of a mountain landscape, waiting to be explored. Defying me to unveil its secret places. Part of this has no doubt been inspired by my love of writing, and particularly poetry, which delves into the distant wilds. Robert Service and his beautiful Yukon ballads:
Peerless and pure, and pinnacled with snow;
Glimpsing the golden dawn o'er coral bars,
Flaunting the vanisht sunset's garnet glow’ - Robert W. Service
In addition, the poems of Frost and Mary Oliver and perhaps most of all, my favourite haiku poet, the wandering monk Santoka (whom I wrote a more detailed account of here: https://steemit.com/poetry/@holothewise/drunken-master-the-haiku-of-taneda-santoka)
Mountains and still, more mountains
Santoka, perhaps more than anyone I've read, understood mountains. In a world where he could not function within the bounds of societal expectation, Santoka found solace in the soaring peaks of his native Japan. Mountains, in all their impassive glory, moved him. It is a love decidedly evident in his work, a recurring theme as the ocean has been in my own writing.
People of the East contemplate the mountains.
For us, mountains are not an object of scientific study but a work of art.
Patiently I taste the mountains."
Taneda Santoka - September 20, 1930
Such a beautiful thought, as if he could somehow imbibe the very essence of those far, calm bastions and make it his own. Mountains bring peace in a different way from the wild, surging sea. Here, a place of calm. A place to rest. And a place to prove yourself. More and more, I can envision a time in my life when I might find a more or less permanent home on the slopes of such a place. Working as I do now in the stunning mountain ranges of South Africa’s Western Cape, I find myself thinking on the jagged beauty of far off Alaska, the Alps, the Drakensberg. These places seem to hold some special balm for the wandering soul. A promise of paths that lead further and further from civilization, deeper into ourselves. For Santoka, that draw is clear in his haiku:
and still deeper -
the green mountains’
I will go beyond
that mountain morrow’
The distant wilds
Of course it’s true that traveling or living in such remote places can be dangerous as well. For all their calm beauty, mountains are not an easy place. I'm sure that anyone reading this who lives in such remote areas will not only understand my romanticism but also be rolling their eyes, just a little bit. Mountains, like the sea, are unforgiving of mistakes, harbor animals that can kill, promise unparalleled hardships and adventures. Perhaps this is why they've been so much romanticized in literature. Tales of the Yukon gold rush thrilled me as a child (and still do). Tales of entire parties of people, lost and starving in the icy heights and the gruesome fates which befell them have me turning the page through sleepless nights. This is the stuff of legends. The stuff that inspired even Tolkien.
And yes, perhaps places as truly remote and wild as that no longer exist in our modern, teched-up, connected-to-everything age. But for me, the feeling that they conjure is still the same. A child-like wonder I've never quite managed (or wanted) to shake loose. And if that’s foolish, then bless my heart for still having room for foolishness I guess.
So, tell me, which places conjure this type of irrational wonder in you? For me, it's neatly summed up by yet another of Santoka’s works:
the mountains, the sea
are too beautiful’
I hope you've enjoyed this little reverie,
Happy Steeming people,
The Wise Fox
Taneda Santoka's haiku (and image used here) may be found at: https://terebess.hu/english/haiku/taneda.html
The full Robert Service poem may be found at: https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-mountain-and-the-lake/
All other images from wikimedia commons :)
Some very beautiful photographs, and words to accompany them. I love Taneda Santoka's words about the western mindset versus the eastern mindset. Conquering as opposed to contemplating. i must have an eastern style of thinking, because nature has always been a place for contemplation for me. To be in and experience fully, but not to get the better of.
There are a few sites in Australia that have made me feel this way. I am especially thinking of The Grampians (or Gariwerd as it's known by the original inhabitants). This is in Western Victoria. To me it is a spiritual place. Rugged mountains, covered in wild Australian forests, filled with Australian wildlife. It has remained undeveloped and preserved such is it's beauty and power. I feel it when I have had the chance to go there. It was a very sacred area to the Aborigine tribes of the area.
I think I have the contemplative mindset as well, or perhaps half/half. I must say, all the Australian steemengine folk are starting to convince me I need to head there at some point soon. You seem to have many stunning natural places that are slowly accumulating on my travel list 🙂
I have hear rumors of extensive calcite banks in southern Australia, where folks have chiseled out living space underground. I've often wondered how safe they are in case of a flood, as its seems they have gone vertically down, as opposed to the city of Petra in Jordan, where entrances are carved leading horizontally into a vertical cliff (or perhaps more than one cliff face?).
Anyhow, I am also enchanted by all aspects of nature, in which we also have our niche.