The world is a very big place — with so many places still unseen and unvisited. Sometimes it’s nice to be able to take a deep breath, a long stride and find yourself in a place unknown.
My son Dhruva and I share a passion for exploring. But like any child raised in Dubai, it gets challenging to leave this world of controlled risks and expand one’s horizons, and it has been my all-time goal to show him how to view the world in his own unique way. This summer, we packed our bags and off went Dhruva to Road Less Travelled, a two-week camp to seek adventure, experience challenges, make new friends, build communities and understand the world and its people in a different way.
With Dhruva busy, I took my own adventure, far away from busy city life. I spent a few days at Yosemite National Park in California among deep valleys, groves of ancient sequoia trees, waterfalls splashing into Yosemite Valley and hundreds of wildlife species. It’s easy to understand what attracts adventure lovers to this part of the world. White-water-rafting had been on my wish-list for a while and there’s no better place than the Middle Fork Salmon River to experience 100 miles of free flowing crystal-clear water. And this I followed with a hiking trail to Inverness, California. The experience, like any close encounter with nature, cannot be described. There’s a reason why being in nature is so healing, so therapeutic. Nature has this ability to offer great complexity of ever-changing patterns that reach into our deepest consciousness: the seamless circle of life, the birth and end of plant and animal life. This is nature’s way of regenerating and growing. Who are we to intervene and disrupt the beautiful flow of life?
Ironically, as I sat enjoying these thoughts peacefully, I got the news of Cecil, the Southwest African lion that was senselessly and unnecessarily hunted down. Cecil was the best-known animal in Hwange National Park, and I kid you not, the park authorities say that people came from all over the world only to enjoy and watch Cecil. Though I understand the hunter had a legal permit, what hurts me is how easy it has become for us to meddle with nature. My sorrow for Cecil’s tragic end only makes me wonder why this world is fast running short of compassion.
I believe the idea that some lives matter less is at the root of all that is wrong with this world. Every life contributes and every life counts. Step outside your home, explore the world, understand it, fall in love with it. Take the road less travelled, and find your own understanding of life.
