And so it's time for another story, one that hopefully pulls together some of the concepts we've been discussing here. It's certainly a story that's gained potency in our memory as Levah and I told and reflected upon it throughout our lives, being without doubt one of our most memorable real life examples of how we were beginning to dance with life.
We found ourselves camping in the Canadian Rockies, Jasper National Park to be precise. We'd spent a few days exploring the local area, hiking its trails and generally enjoying the beauty of the land and now time felt right for us to move on. Many people had told us of the magnificence of the road south, the Icefields Parkway, a two hundred and thirty two kilometre stretch that linked Jasper to the iconic landmark of Lake Louise in Banff National Park.
The moment we heard about it, we became intent on making the journey. However after some research, we discovered that there was no public transport serving the route and the only way to travel without a car was to join a very expensive day tour bus that stopped off at major tourist sites along the way. This was something that we really didn't want to do because the idea of being on a packed bus when travelling on what had been tagged one of the most beautiful road journeys in the world really didn't appeal to us at all. We could have walked and camped along the way, this was a far out possibility, however, the practicalities of this idea faded fast as we realised we'd have to carry around three weeks food with us. We didn't have the space or strength to do so and didn't fancy the competition with the bears, wolves, cougars, moose and elk out there in the wild. So on the surprising advice from the local tourist information office, we decided to hitch-hike.
Levah was up for this straight away. She'd always been the more adventurous and less fearful of our coupling and she took to the idea like a duck to water, immediately crafting a beautiful cardboard sign indicating where we wanted to go. I on the other hand, was far less enthusiastic about the prospect of placing my fate in the driving hands of a complete stranger. Everything about me pushed hard against the idea and shutting down, I nearly resounded myself to the fact I'd have to sell out and get the tour bus. But the inkling inside me to do it was too strong and despite the constant battle of my 'better judgement' I found myself somewhat unwillingly choosing to go through with it anyway. I of course voiced my concerns to Levah, who greeted them kindly but refused to entertain them, for she, like me, knew that this was the next step of our journey into flow. She was just a lot more confident with her decision than me.
It's a weird feeling leaning into one's fears, knowing that in one's mind, we don't want to do something, but allowing one's heart to drive anyway. It's feels extremely passive, but on the other hand an extremely knowing place to be. Like one is stepping aside and allowing things to be as they're meant to be in the present moment, allowing the turmoil inside that wants the safest, quickest option available to simply play out ineffectively around oneself. Inevitably then (and to my profound bewilderment), I found myself apprehensively standing on the roadside at around 9am on a warm and sunny Sunday morning trying to hitch-hike.
Well, if I'm honest at the start of it all, I didn't really do anything other than just stand there. I was way too nervous and for the first fifteen minutes, it was Levah who stood, sign in hand, smiling hopefully at the sparse but regular oncoming traffic that zoomed past us. A little time passed and with no one stopping I found myself becoming increasingly nervous and confused as to what the hell we were doing. From my observer stance, I could see the approaching drivers slowing slightly and leaning forward to try and read the sign, so I bossily instructed Levah to try and position it better, even adding my two cents by making the lettering bolder with an old pencil. My bossiness, coupled with my lack of participation, was justifiably not greeted with much gratitude.
More minutes passed and still nothing. I was beginning to feel my trust in flow wane as my mind's doubt gained potency, creeping whispers of 'I told you so' into my being. Then all of a sudden, a man driving past leant out of his window and gave us the thumbs up in a suggestive manner and it immediately hit us! We were such novice hitch-hikers we weren't doing the universally known thumbs out hitch-hiking gesture! To most drivers, we were just a pair of strangers standing by the roadside holding a hard to read cardboard sign. Perhaps people thought we were poorly prepared protesters or something. Levah's thumb subsequently went optimistically into the air.
YOU ARE READING
The Tales of Tim Hurtletuta - New Beginnings
General Fiction"Tim Hurtletuta has forgotten something. He cannot see or fully understand what it is yet, but behind his awareness a far wiser and more powerful part of him knows that what he's lost has never faded far from view. Its memory waits ever present for...
