[MD] Clouds

[Heather Perella]

     [Dan said to Joe]
> Thank you for your kindness. Yes. Quality seems to
> shine more brightly when 
> one is alone though I often wonder why it is so.


    Perspective maybe.  I've been in the woods with
people who chat about nothing that is happening at the
present time while in the woods, and others that are
sharing the experience with me.  There are shades in
these experiences, such as somebody talking about what
happened to them before while in the woods, maybe even
at that very spot.  Yet, the sharing of the present
experience might be somebody talking, and I'm looking
right passed what their saying since their talking
about something I can touch, think about, and see for
myself.  As if they were just a cloud that look like
something that reminded me about this over here and
that over there.  As camp fire smoke disappears into
the sky, the chat disappears into this place.  
     Flexibility in changing with the events, and
flowing in my experience probably has something to do
with how solitude shines quality more brightly.  Being
with somebody else is being with somebody elses
perspective, too.  The flexibility in where me whims
take me uncarved by anothers.  If I'm going this way,
and somebody I'm with is going that way well the flow
gets a bit rapid.
     I've been in the woods, haven't seen him for
years, but when I was with this person camping,
backpacking, and short walks for a number of years we
flowed in and out of our shared experience.  With this
person we could chat about something intellectual,
something presently happening, something not seen but
may have to do with town, yet, we could also walk for
miles without saying a word and I'd forget he was here
walking with me.  Not in the neglect sense of
forgetfulness, but you may know what I mean, just
being in that zone where I'm here with the woods, the
sounds, the quiet, the sights, etc...  I've gone
through days without chatting with him on the walks
except during snack times, setting up camp and sitting
by the fire.  These would turn into lively events
where we may chat about what happened during the day. 
Sometimes we'd see 'stuff' the other wouldn't, and
that talk about the owl in the tree could turn into a
long story about where at on the trail, how one didn't
want to say anything to scare the owl away, and when
the walk lead away from the owl the perspective of the
one that experienced the owl just walked right along
into the next bend in the turn.  Something about the
flow of experience undisturbed even with another
person on the trail that solitude is still felt, and
then he or I could turn our head and say do you want
to camp here.  The quiet of the woods saturates ones
experience that sitting by the campfire turns into a
solitude session where we're off on our own experience
with the woods, or a walk down to the creek a little
ways from the camp has the camp disappear with the
aweness of the creek event, then I remember the camp
and walk back.
     Thanks for this very wonderful real story.  Since
I've been in the woods in remote places at times, felt
memories surfaced as I read this.  It was quite
enjoyable and the story stirred peace and quiet.


quiet white snow on the earth,
SA


 
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