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

"Allow mystery, which is to say to yourself, 'There could be more, there could be things we don't understand'..." B. Lopez
I once was able to watch a grey wolf at play when out on an adventure. This animal was a mystery in motion to me. At that time I knew so little about them, and yet found myself so very impressed by its grace of movement and its playful behavior. When it finally looked over in my direction and met my gaze, there was a moment there, where I wondered who was really watching who... 
"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
"If you could be an animal, what animal would you be? Answering that question creates a powerful personal metaphor." Grey Wolf
Adventures are inherently full of mystery.
Isn't that one of the many things that may draw us to what is adventuresome.
I think I would like to be a wolf even for a day.....DSD  

"Countless, Timeless, Forever..."

On top of this summit we touch a hundred million years.
Imagine what these rocks have seen; envision our brief history in relation to them; perspectives upon perspectives.
There, as we drift by those rocks of our Northern Shield lakes. we can know thousands upon thousands of seasons. So many passages of peoples, of animals.
So beautifully carved by tons of ice and countless storms of snow. 
Deep in this canyon we also embrace the millenia, the timeless, the endless... 
We raft through ages upon ages, eons upon eons, among layer upon layer of time. Time though, is an unknown concept to such a canyon. 
Yet it still shares with us, allows us to touch almost countless years.
What a gift in being able to enjoy the memories of such earth and rock and timelessness, in touching a hundred million years and more...  DSD   

"Forever Briefly..."

We only met briefly; two trekkers out upon that long trail. Him coming back in, and me just getting going. Him returning with that look of such happiness and weathering; me simply beginning with no dust yet upon me nor a sun or wind burn upon my face.While we were only meet briefly we did talk for some moments. Some great shared time, like that we all have had on our trails, to chat about terrain, directions, conditions, vistas to enjoy, and secret places to discover...But when I asked that other question, we often query about too; that inquiry over timing, what he said intrigued me even more..."I've no idea", he said when I asked how long its' been and how long its' taken. "No idea at all, because I don't really know...", "What day or date it is, or the time of day really either...".All this said with a smile on the face of one who doesn't care, about such definers or parameters, when they long wander out there...He was returning with such a wondrous gift, of perceptions like these. I was just starting to head out, only beginning to sense, to be reminded again of the value of this way of wandering.We only met and shared briefly; but I won't soon forget...DSD  

"Timings..."

“For what it’s worth: it’s never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the courage to start all over again.”   E. Roth

"The Same Mountain..."

"You never climb the same mountain twice.
Memory rebuilds the mountain.
It changes the weather, retells the jokes, remakes all the moves...".  L. Tejada-Flores

"Such Resounding Quiet..."

"After a long day of walking in the mountains, the ancients sat alone and in the quiet...".  Deng Ming-Dao

In stillness we then rest, 
Amidst the quiet, with our breath.
Now calm and vividly remembering,
Every single step of our long journey.

In stillness we then rest,
Amidst the quiet, with our breath.
For a very challenging mountain had been chosen,
Knowing we would then embrace all then wildly given.

In stillness we then rest,
Amidst the quiet, with our breath.
Atop the summit of a further elusive mountain,
Being present for all of that which has happened.

In stillness we then rest,
Amidst the quiet, with our breath.
After a descent as challenging too,
Then so tired, and now safe as well.

In stillness we then rest,
Amidst the quiet, with our breath.
Amazingly welcoming was that mountain,
With such adversity and then those teachings.

In the stillness we then rest,
Amidst the quiet, with our breath.
Having shared in those many precious gifts,
Meditative forever moments nourishing our very being... DSD 

Dedicated to those wonderful wanderers who are out there still,Adventuring For Another Reason. 

"In The Quiet Places Of Nature..."

"It is only in the intentional silence of vigil and meditation, or in the quiet places of nature, that we encounter the song of the universe. Like the wind... this song echoes along the pathways of the cosmic web; it includes the celestial spinning of the planets, as well as the hum of insects and the dancing song of the grass; it includes the song of all the ancestors and spirits as well as the beating of our own hearts...". C. Mathews

"Revealings..."

"It is the human spirit that brings us to the mountains.
It is the mountains that reveal the human spirit to each of us...".
R. Messner

"Still Seekings....."

"If we are seekers, then we shall find." Deng Ming-Dao

Adventuring, wandering, seekings...
Setting out towards serendipity.
Looking out there among our most inner terrain.
In the act, within the efforts, are the answers.
Seeking... 
The wonderful, the personal, the natural, the subtle, the surreal, the elemental.
The spirit of seeking is the key to what is being sought...
Seekers, seer's, sorcerers, searchers...
What we pursue, we become.
We seek ourselves, yet find so much more.....  DSD    

"Still Calling For Us..."

"The Quietest Voices Are Still Calling....." 

"It's Still There..."

"The dark dangerous forest is still there, my friends. Beyond the space of astronauts and the astronomers, beyond the dark tangled regions of psychiatry, beyond those dubious psi-realms, beyond the areas policed by commissars and priests and motivations-research men, far, far beyond the mad, beat, half-hysterical laughter... the utterly unknown still is and the eerie and ghostly lurk, as much wrapped up in mystery as ever. 
And isn't that wonderful...".  F. Leiber

"We Can Choose Otherwise..."

"Once we face our fear, once we treat our anxiety itself as a thing, we can then choose otherwise.
Instead of filling the unknown in our minds with expectations of the tragic, we can choose to fill the void with a different expectation - the expectation of adventure...".   D.W. Jones

"Appealing..."

"It is like a voyage of discovery into unknown lands, seeking not only new territory, but for new knowledge.
It should appeal to those with a good sense of adventure...".  F. Sanger

"Day To Day..."

"Adventure isn't just hanging on a rope on the side of a mountain. Adventure is an attitude that we must apply to the day-to-day obstacles of life. Facing new challenges, seizing new opportunities, testing our resources against the unknown and, in the process, discovering our own unique potential...". J. Amatt

"By Its Very Nature..."

"Adventure, by its very nature, involves overcoming uncertainty, fear, obstacles, adversity, and the unknown. The adventure attitude, particularly as used in the metaphors of the mountain or the sea.. can be applied to our daily lives".  A. Hobson
Many times, mostly in hindsight, and looking back over the trail, is when I realize how beautiful the unknown was..... DSD

"Wandering Unknown..."

"The acid test of a true adventurer, if presented with certain anonymity, is whether each of us would still have made the journey beyond the last blue mountain..." M. Clark  

"The Unknown Uncertainties Which We Love..."

“Walking on a path of uncertainties, 
Shuffling on the probabilities of uncertainties, 
Waging on the possibilities of uncertainties, 
Waiting for the occurrences of uncertainties,
Solving the mysteries of wandering uncertainties,
We move, lead and live.”   P. Rana

"To Roam About..."

“The word "travel" comes from the Old French word "travail" (or "travailler"), which means "to work, to labor; a suffering or painful effort, an arduous journey, a tormenting experience." ("Travel," thus, is "a painful and laborious journey"). Whereas "to wander" comes from the West Germanic word "wandran," which simply means "to roam about." There is no labor or torment in "wandering." There is only "roaming." Wandering is the activity of the child, the passion of the genius; it is the discovery of the self, the discovery of the outside world, and the learning of how the self is both "at one with" and "separate from" the outside world. These discoveries are as fundamental to the soul as "learning to survive" is fundamental to the body. These discoveries are essential to realizing what it means to be human. To wander is to be alive.”   R. Payne

"Of Exploring And Learning..."

"We shall not cease from exploration, and at the end of all exploring, will be to arrive where we started, and know the place for the first time...". T.S. Eliot  

"Just Out Wandering And Learning Yet Even More..."

"You will find more in the woods than in books. Trees and stones will teach you that which you can never learn from masters...".  St. Bernard