Painting With Perspectives
Yosemite: Glen Aulin
This past weekend, eight of us left SF to explore Yosemite, some for the first time.
Our group had a mix of camping experience. Some of us are avid outdoor enthusiasts, taking advantage of mother nature when possible. For others, it was their first time camping in the backcountry.
Our novice camping friends were eager to learn the ropes, the do’s and don’ts, the tricks of camping. Joseph, one of my best friends, took charge and shared his knowledge with many of us.
We hiked six miles to Glen Aulin, one of the High Sierra camps in the park, during that time our group had the chance to learn more about each other; what we did for a living, where we are from, personal details about our lives, etc.
After establishing our campsite, we headed down to the waterfall, relaxing by the water and getting to know more of one another. Eventually, we headed back to camp and started our night-long campfire huddle, talking more, learning more.
At this point I remembered something.
Remember Amelie? Remember that scene where she takes the hand of the blind man in the market and accompanies him through the street? She’s describing the world around him, painting a picture with her words. She’s sharing what, and how, she see’s the world, giving him a new perspective on the world around him. (I love that scene.)
Just like how Amelie painted her world for the blind man, we painted our worlds for each other. Feeling very comfortable among one another (some strangers, now friends), we opened ourselves up, sharing our thoughts, fears, and ideas on many personal topics.
Sure, we taught one another proper ways of backpacking and different facts about the park. We shared yoga moves that helped our bodies heal after a three hour hike. And of course, we encouraged each other to jump in the freezing river to feel that moment of rush, a rush not available to us all that often.
But, on a deeper level, we shared perspectives on certain things in our lives and how we choose to live based on our past, based on how we see the world—the good and the bad. We opened ourselves up to allow others to give insight on our picture of the world.
In those few days, we all shared our never-finished picture of our world. We took in new perspectives from others that will no doubt be reflected in our picture of the world.
I feel we all left Yosemite with a slightly different painting of our own world.
