I'm camped out in an Appalachian Trail Lean-To on the mountain ridge that culminates at Mt. Greylock. Today I've descended to the town of Adams, MA. And after I finish writing this I will ascend the mountain (probably in the rain), a round trip of about 14 miles.
This is the ridge that the Prophet Herman Melville could see from his home in Pittsfield, MA where he wrote 'Moby Dick.' It is said that when Melville was writing the parts of the book that described the Great White Whale or the actions of the Great White Whale he would move his writing desk to the part of his house where he could see this ridge, and image the greatest creature of The Wonder World.
The ridge does kind of look like a great serpentine whale.
And on this holy mountain I have been contemplating the nature of The Wonder World and the nature of The Leap into The Wild Blue Yonder.
A few days ago two youngblood newbees came down the trail. They reminded me of myself and my good friend Cliff Hamill when we first took that wild leap on to the trail about 32 years ago. They were totally joyous in the moment. They weren't well equipped or prepared. But they were dancing with Life as they found IT.
We had some good discussion of Selassie.
The trail is such a wonderful invitation to adventure, to the not-business-as-usual, to the Leap. But even such a wonderful thing as the Appalachian Trail for many long hikers or thru hikers becomes a thing of such wretched static stagnant repetion.
There is never a bad New England foliage season. There are some that are more wonderful then others. But all are good. I feel blessed being in these Berkshires this time of year. Whenever I am not in New England this time of year I feel ripped-off. But many of the people I am encountering on the ridge are very busy, quickly moving people continually thinking of the clock and calendar, and oblivious of the place and the moment.
Many hikers have recoiled from the Leap. It has become a thing of camping equipment consumerism. Most hikers have cell-phones. Most hikers are totally not in the moment.
What is their hurry?
Many start Life with good Leap. But the business-as-usual (bau), is to recoil from Leap, to make what begins as Wild, Crazy Leap into the Wild Blue Yonder into a thing of dwelling on making your quota of miles, figuring out where you are going to sleep, what you are going to eat, where and when you are going to shit.
The n-b-a-u, the Mutiny that the Prophet Melville wrote about is about having the confidence in the Leap to know that you need not be anxious about any of this. It is about the confidence, the knowing that if you fully engage the Leap, that if you in no way recoil from Leap. You will - strangely enough - be supported by the Universe.
[read blog-style -- first entry at bottom of page]