By Robert L. Cain, Copyright 2021
A new subdivision grows just west of mine. Separated by enough desert that the houses in our subdivision can’t see theirs and vice versa, I think about it only when I drive by or walk through, gritting my teeth in memory of the decimated desert. Before they started building the 211 houses, along with the bulldozers, concrete trucks, and lumber deliveries, the gobbled-up area was a wonderful place to walk. Even if the character did change, opportunities for exploration remain.
Ansel Adams wrote, “In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration.” I agree. Exploration needs only to look for something new. Going out into the world, map in hand hacking through underbrush, sailing the seven seas in search of new land, or hiking across unfamiliar wilderness all qualify as exploration. However, limiting exploration to those misses out on exploratory experiences just as rewarding. Explorations can take place even as close as your backyard, around your neighborhood, or down your street, and require no preparation or planning, just enjoyment.
Physical explorations do not need to be extensive or require transportation. My explorations on walks aren’t major undertakings much less planned. It’s more like, “wait, I’ve never been over there. I wonder where it goes.” Then I find out. I know of instances where it has provided me with a new route to scout, new things to see, and more things to pique my curiosity.
I treated myself to one particular exploration a while back as I wondered if the wash I was walking in went to the state park across the highway. Well, actually, it goes under the highway, and because of that requires no traffic-dodging. That morning I didn’t want to spend the extra time it would take to completely explore across the highway to the state park, but I had to see if the route I took got me there. It did. I satisfied my curiosity but I didn’t finish exploring. One day soon.
Exploration equals adventure. Adventure can satisfy curiosity and reward us with the satisfaction of knowing we found something new and interesting. In fact, exploration need not be physical at all. We can explore ideas, explore information, explore thoughts, and explore formulating a plan of action, all while taking a walk
It can also be like the bear that went over the mountain. You may remember this ditty from childhood. Here’s a piece of the first verse:
The bear went over the mountain/ To see what he could see/ The other side of the mountain/ Was all that he could see
And the ditty ends,
He found another bear there/ And off they went to play
The metaphorical other side of the mountain is all that we ever see on our explorations, but what’s wrong with that? The other side of the mountain may contain myriad interesting things to see and experience, and maybe another bear there to play with. I know when I take a new path, I not only see the path, but also much more because I look for the “other bear there,” or some interesting natural formation, plant, old building, ill-placed debris, or a unique thing that provokes my curiosity.
To me, exploring often means examining minutiae in places I have been before, or taking a new, unexplored path on a walk, one I had noticed but never taken. I want to soak in as much as I can, to give myself something to remember, something to look back on as a good walk, maybe a near-perfect walk. Sometimes those small explorations are what I remember as well as seeing the Great Wall and Hadrian’s Wall, both of which I explored tiny parts of. The trips themselves, though, getting there, counts as priceless exploration.
As I wrote this, I thought of a couple of Yogi Berraisms:
“You can observe a lot just by watching,” and “No matter where you go, there you are.” No matter what you find on a walk, there you are. What you make of it and experience constitutes the reward of every walk.
Fortunately, we decide how we approach the experience. Every walk provides many adventures and explorations while replenishing our energy and satisfying our curiosity if we decide it does. That requires stopping and looking, maybe examining closely, maybe even sitting and pondering, none of which is possible if the walk is solely for exercise. Today’s and every walk can be a remembered exploration, a fount of new ideas, and a cause for pondering surroundings.
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