I find myself constantly replaying images of red and green mountain landscapes, cloudy sunsets, and uninhabited desert roads. This past January I went on an adventure in Patagonia, Argentina that completely changed my view of the world.
Before I decided to take on this adventure, I had a lot of planning to do. You see, one does not just buy a plane ticket to another country and backpack along a giant mountain range without a little thought beforehand. That would be reckless and dangerous. Both character traits of what I would soon learn to embrace (as should you); but before conquering the mountain, I had to learn what I was up against.
It is not safe to take an adventure alone, nor is it quite as fun. Therefore, I went with a very special friend on this road trip adventure that indeed proved to be unforgettable. He was more knowledgeable than I was on activities like camping and backpacking because he had done both before several times. I, on the other hand, had gotten as far as a tent in my friend’s backyard to count as camping. If it even does? I knew I was ready to do this, because there was an element of curiosity I felt deep in the pit of my being that just had to be quenched.
The tension that rose being in the same routine here in New York last semester was torture. I felt that finals killed my spirit and trapped me in an unwavering abyss of negativity. because I was so hindered in my growth from being in one place (a college campus) for five months straight. Do not get wrong, college and the campus environment is incredible and the social aspects they provide are unmatchable. However, it is not sustainable nor healthy to be on campus for so long. At least not for me. If you are anything like me and have a spirit as a free as a bird, you have a tough time being in one place for too long. Migration is much needed.
I have learned from being out in Argentina, with the honor of being in the presence of the silent winds of the Andes Mountains, the value of nature and its place in our lives. I feel as a society we take for granted the depth of nature. Many see it as a form of a container or storage vessel for our resources and consumption goods. However, what nature offers us is a key to our own humanity, our own well-being.
People suffer from depression and loneliness and are given medication to quell their pain. Sure they are told to take a walk and get some fresh air, but when are they, when are we told to take an adventure? Adventure is an antidote unlike anything else. Adventure liberates the blockages in your being that you didn’t even know could be blocked. Adventure teaches you how to live with less and how to trust your intentions. Adventure teaches you flexibility and how to challenge your own perspective on the way you do things. Adventure is the teacher you did not ask for but needed to learn from in order to grow.
Image by Author
“Until you step into the unknown, you don’t know what you are made of,” said Roy T. Bennett. The validity in this quote could not ring more true. Until stepping foot on the circuitous gravel-filled, unpaved roads of the Andes surrounded by nothing but an endless horizon of mountains and plateaus, I had not been aware just how much I myself was capable of. We, as humans with hopefully a pair of mobile limbs, are able to move and roam to where we please. Our bodies are incredible. They are created to combat disease, keep us healthy, and transport not just our minds but ourselves from destination to destination. We are each a star amongst the sky, looking for a way to shoot and be the brightest light we can be.
To be the brightest, I think taking an adventure into a place unknown and foreign to you is essential. The only way we can test our boundaries, even if we are free and have the capacity to think beyond borders, we need to transport our bodies into a position to test our own skills. In our civilized, modern households we have almost everything available to use. Some are more fortunate than others, but many of us have access to drinking water, toilets, clothing, and more or less food. When you are taking an adventure, you do not know necessarily when you will replenish your stash of resources, so everything you use is with intention. Every moment is a meditation within itself. Each breath, each kiss, each step…is a chance to taste a life you never experienced but can learn from first hand.
Backpacking the Andes Mountains in Patagonia taught me how to be a better me. How to be a better human and live with less and with more intention to how I am choosing to live. Do you find yourself stuck and looking for a way out of your monotonous routine? Then you, my friend, need to plan an adventure. Or don’t plan. Just go. Let the flexibility begin its lesson you were meant to learn.