Kings of the Trail #170
- Luke Jarman
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
Go Further & Explore More...
"The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction."
Rachel Carson
Rachel Carson believed that paying attention is a form of protection. That the things we notice most closely become those that we care most about and what we love, we tend not to destroy. She was attuned enough to see this at a time of rapid technological changes and continual shifts in how we interact with the natural world around us, much like today. It turns out she was right and scientific studies have backed this theory up. One major study by psychologist Dacher Keltner looked at the effect that awe - that prickle you feel on your skin when a ridgeline opens up in front of you, or a valley falls away beneath you - has on people. The results were very interesting. The feeling of awe shrinks the self, but not only that; the awe effect carried over into how people behaved and interacted with others and the world in general. People who'd just felt awe behaved more generously, less aggressively, and more connected to the world around them. It seems that when presented with a vastness, it can put your own concerns in proportion. For many, myself included, this is part of the attraction of hitting the trails and doing the hard work. When we are fully focused on the task at hand, everything else falls away and becomes distant; we care a little more about the world around us and our place in it. In this respect, each time we step out is an opportunity for awe, if we choose to pay attention to it. Every summit reminds us how small we are in the vastness of the world around us and the need to protect and care for the natural world. The more deeply we experience this, the quicker we can lose our appetite for destruction…
Until next week, be safe and enjoy the trails...
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📸 Birmingham, England
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