|
 Jay
Mountain Hike
July 26th 2004
I
needed to sit on a mountain in total silence and listen to my thoughts
and those voices that come to one when they are in a quiet,
contemplative state. I’m
lucky to be able to do this on a mountain top such as Jay.
There are many excellent rock out croppings where one can view in
every direction, the Adirondacks, Lake Champlain and the Green Mountains
of Vermont.
Once up to the first rocky knoll you walk along an ridge trail that runs
in and out of low forest and brush. The trail is marked by rock cairns when it comes out onto the
immense slab of granite that opens up great views to the south.
Over the years hikers have piled up a five foot rock cairn here
and I add another little touch to it and take a picture of myself with
the camera supported on this cairn.
While I hike I allow myself to flush thoughts out early on in the walk,
just letting myself think of whatever it wants to get them out of the
way. I begin to observe the
trail, flowers, berries and leaves and my meditative walk slowly  begins
so that by the time I have reached the cairn I’m consciously
considering only the mass of granite I am walking on.
I slowly eat and taste my food and
then meditate along with the granite.
Each birthday I take stock of my life.
I arrange my own party, to celebrate the day.
Sometimes I do an art show in my gallery and sometimes just a
private party. Sometimes just a dessert party for friends and poetry
readings. Quite often
there's a hike, always alone.
Always using that day for searching purposes.
There have been 56 birthdays now, I’m very happy for each one, but
also melancholy that another one has past. Somewhere, probably when I was in the war I became birthday
aware and decided to celebrate and search in my way.
It’s paid off for me I feel. There are few things in this life for me that can compare
with a meditative hike, to take nature and wrap myself in it’s
adoration for several silent hours.
And then to have time with family and friends in a celebratory
atmosphere.
I’ve found it to be an important tool of my creativity to search out
time to contemplate and bring my attention to a single thought.
I’ve never been dissatisfied, mystified some times but always
astounded by life’s forces.
I
really wanted to be intent on examining my creativity and it's place in
a changing and dangerous world, and on what to now do with it.
This is a time of life when I see my children growing up, taking
on interests and actually leaving the nest.
I wanted to take myself to a higher plane of creativity, I felt I
was ready for it, ready for new creative challenges. I knew after hiking Jay mountain what I needed to do in my
life and in my creativity. |
