"Vast Quietness..."

"It was the emptiness... The vast, quiet solitude that caught and held me. 
I thought: This is what they mean by wilderness.
The word took on a new dimension...". Colin Fletcher

"For A While..."

"You sit, triumphant, on a rocky peak and look at the whole world spread out below; and for a while, though still human, you are no longer merely human...". Colin Fletcher

"Nothing Like It..."

"I needed something to pare the fat off my soul... to make me grateful again, for being alive. And I knew, deep and safe, beyond mere intellect, that there is nothing like a wilderness journey for rekindling the fires of life...". 

Colin Fletcher

"Stephen's Musings..."

"To the Four Legged Ones, who know wilderness as home and teach us how to live there; To the Winged Ones who see the larger picture from above... To the Plant People, who live the bloom of life constantly; to miraculous Water, who keeps life flowing... To the Stone People, who ground life with ancient wisdom and mountains of beauty; to the Earth, who holds and nurtures us all...".  Stephen Lyman   

"Your Wilderness Is Calling..."

"If you are willing, and if you listen very gently and carefully, you will sense that this mysterious wisdom is ready to lead you, guide you to where you need to be. It is your wilderness calling." G. May

One of my very favorite quotes, composed by a cherished Author. 

'Your wilderness calling' - what an ephemeral, thoughtful musing. 

There is most certainly a hidden mystery, a secrecy beyond simple perception out there within initially concealed exciting unknowns that beckon us on. 

Then we begin to ask ourselves: What revelations will we each discover; what possibilities will we each uncover; what wonders will be revealed.

Our wise wilderness has always been calling, a mien, a trail, towards ourselves... 

But when called will we listen, when gestured for will we see, when motioned to will we feel.

Will we allow ourselves to sense those many elusive wonderments, among such hints of enigmatic elements, all waiting so patiently, to assemble as we return to our natures.

Eventually, so intuitively, we will develop such insight and knowings, as we wander among our chosen wild places, from the wisdom shared with us on our adventures. 

Then having returned, we will finally begin to devine this magic, through understanding that it is we who are now calling out in gratitude as well..... DSD

"Not Just A Place..."

"Wilderness is not just a place.

It is also a state of being.

If happiness means being happy, and sadness means being sad,

then wilderness means being wilder.

Look it up for fun.

You'll find that the primary meaning of wild is 'natural'.

In turn, nature comes from the Latin word 'nasci', meaning to be born,,,".

G. May

"For Fur, Feathers, And Fins Friday's..."

"The Bella Coola Indians believed,

that someone tried to change all the animals into men,

but succeeded in making human, 

only the eyes of the wolf..."      B. Lopez

"I Speak To Maps..."

"I speak to maps.

And sometimes they say something back to me.

This is not as strange as it sounds.

Nor is it an unheard of thing.

Before maps, the world was limitless.

It was maps that gave it shape...

Maps made places on the edges of imagination seem graspable and placable...".

A. Gurnah

"Hard & Easy..."

"If you are willing to do only 

what's easy,

life will be hard.

But,

if you are willing to do what's hard,

life will be easy...".

T.H. Eker

"Now Or..."

"Every moment,

is the Paradox,

of now,

or never...".

S.V. Booy

"Follow It Anyway..."

"This trail is never changing.

It won't lead you astray.

It won't always be easy.

At times it will too narrow for your paws.

Follow it anyway.

And you'll overcome every challenge you face...".

B.L. Engels

"Of Truths..."

"The truth,

is not in the touch of a stone.

But in what the stone,

tells you...".

R. Denfeld

"Passed Forward From The Ancients..."

Rock painting is an ancient practice of placing images upon stone.

The strength and durability of the stone was said to add to the power and presence of the paintings.

Aboriginal peoples on many continents have also colored and painted stones as gifts, rocks as markers, and rock walls as a means to record their histories.

At times it was the character of the stone itself that would also influence the eventual image that appeared. 

The paints themselves were often made of water and clay, berries, selected soils, animal fats, even blood. 
Some rock was also etched and then painted to enhance the chosen image with more than one dimension.

After collecting these little rocks on many adventures, cleaning and polishing them, musing over the stone, I now splash a bit of paint upon them, and then give them back.

Just my own simple way of passing forward and yet being a tiny part of an ancient past ritual...  DSD    

"Things That Matter..."

"Life is short.

So do things that matter...".

Sir Edmund Hillary

"Sharing Your Adventure Stories With Another..."

"You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone's soul.

Becomes their blood and self and purpose.

That tale will move them and drive them.

And who knows what they might do because of it.

Because of your words.

That is your role.

Your gift...".

E. Morgenstern

"What Story Will You Create..."

That is what our adventures are. 

A story with no end...

A story of promise, of possibility, desire, and high expectations. The wild places inspire these stories and we become trusting of such experiences from out there.

We remember the uplifting moments, the fulfillment's, and the transcendence's of the mountains.

We remember the knowings, the innocence, and the expressions of the desert.

We remember the potentials, the futures, and the feelings that the rivers share.

We remember too the oceans and lakes with their newness, the breakthroughs, and their messages of hope.

Wild places for many often especially create experiences of freedom, sometimes for redemption, even emancipation's and forgiveness.

They are a story too so phoenix like in spirit, with endless new beginnings and meanings, grand memories and sensing of something 'more than' to be found.

So many musings to be discovered, so much to be enjoyed, all inviting us to go onward, to go forward, to go beyond.

A spirited story with no end, as there doesn't need to be, because the wonders are also in the journey and the telling of the story itself too..... DSD

"The Time..."

"If I don't have the time,

to live my life well the first time...

When am I going to find the time to go back,

and live it over...".

R. Fulghum

"Where To Start..."

To have those people in our lives is so profoundly special. Our mountain Mentors, wild place Guides, and heroes too - whose experience, enthusiasm, wisdom, and perceptions become such examples for possible wonders for us to reach out and up for...

Yet, just as often, I am reminded that even with all their adventure achievements and heights attained, our wild place Mentors all started their outdoor lives on the valley floor as well. They all started their climbs towards personal goals as low as we each have.
Those we admire had humble beginnings much like ours. 
We aspire to be so like them, and we are in many ways, because we all began down here. We all have shared in those lower levels of inexperience, and within the challenges of being a novice as well.
We are more alike than not.
We share in so much more than we ever may first realize.
They have gone so very far, been up so amazingly high, went for such long enduring distances too. And now they knowingly look back, and wonderfully encourage us on, as we set out on our own courses and bearings...
More is being shared here than the summits of our own adventure experiences. 
To keep on going together in order to attain such meaningful wild place experiences, it can be important to gently realize, that we all start low..... DSD 

"The New Year's Priceless Lesson..."

"The priceless lesson in the New Year,

is that endings birth beginnings,

and beginnings birth endings.

And in this elegantly choreographed dance of life,

neither finds an end in the other...".

C.D. Lounsbrough