Travel Notes 2: Dolomites
July 2024 was a significant month for me. On many levels it felt like a turning point. But importantly I reconnected with the mountains, something that has become vital for my own sanity. Here’s why:
The reason mountains have forever captivated me is becasue they offer: perspective, humility, stillness, awe, and reconnection - but only if you choose to take the offer. It’s super easy to go out and explore the wondrous world, take the selfie to prove you were there, and then move on to the next location on the instagram checklist. And I’ve been guilty of this. But to choose the other way is to be unexplainably more rewarded.
Perspective
Coming back to nature, and in the case of mountain ranges, coming back to vast, expansive landscapes brings you back to reality in a way that a fast-paced, highly connected city life rarely can. To remove yourself from the hustle, from the pressure of always needing to be going flat out and getting better in everything all the time, allows you often to see the bigger picture of your journey and sometimes question where you’re going and how you’re getting there.
Humility
It’s just about scale. In my own little world I can easily feel quite important, especially when something good is happening privately or work-wise. Even when things aren't going great, I find it’s easy to be consumed by your own highs and lows and how important they are. The scale of the mountains, especially when their constellation and contours are particularly impressive, reminds me how small and fragile I actually am. This doesn’t diminish the reality of my life, but rather points me to what is bigger. More than that, realising how small the mountains are within the greater universe and the Creator that made them.
Stillness
Mountains (along with deserts) are the quietest places I know of and have experienced. They don’t make a noise, they don’t ask for anything or impose themselves proudly. They just exist in the world. Being in such a still context and then in that context practicing active stillness within yourself is one of the most powerful antidotes to our hectic and loud lives. And that also makes it very difficult to become good at. We crave distraction and stimulation, tactility and feedback, input and output. We find it so hard to sit and do nothing, and feel the need to fill every void of noise and doing with sound and activity. Stillness has allowed me to far more effectively figure out how I’m feeling, what I’m thinking, what I’m desiring, where I’m hurting, and where I might currently be heading - whether intentionally or unintentionally.
Awe
Bro, mountains are insaaaane! From how they are formed, to how they change, to their shapes and contours, their heights and depths, and their infinite variation. To stand on awe of a mountain is to get a glimpse of God.
Reconnection
Mountains tend to have no internet. This is good. Disconnect to reconnect is the name of the game and follows on from stillness. Removing distraction and the need to consume, replacing that craving with the dopamine of the earth is better than any detox course you can buy online. When this is done together with other people, that is where real shared human connection takes place.
Mountains are certainly not the only places that offer these attributes in some way or another; and yet they form a unique combination I just can’t get enough of.
Oh and the Dolomites. Let’s just say I’m completely head over heals. Seriously.
