The following excerpt is from a book entitled Wild by Nature by Sara Marquis. It is the story of her travels from Siberia to Australia alone in the wilderness and on foot. In the excerpt quoted here, she describes her encounter with a moment of perfect vision while on this journey and the circumstances that lead up to this experience. Another example of how these moments change who we are and redefine the journey we are on following these experiences.
“One afternoon, the milky-blue sky suddenly changes color. Five short minutes are all it takes for it to transform itself into a monster of big, fat, dark grey clouds, lit up here and there by muffled electric discharges. I organize myself, I’m all to familiar with what comes next. I’m ready, curled up in the fetal position on the ground. My head in my hands, I prepare to withstand another of the numerous tests that Mother Nature seems to enjoy throwing in my path. The rain comes first in gusts and slaps my face. It’s followed by a raft of lightening flashes. I start to shiver with cold and with dread, the ground trembles and takes it. Flat, the ground seems infinite, rolling out for miles around without a tree, without a rock. The lightening won’t be attracted to a tree or other protuberance as it usually is, in this case it will strike at random. I know that at this moment, Zeus is playing Russian roulette with me. I just need to get through it and block it out, that’s all. I clench my teeth. I’m okay? It will pass …
I withstand it alright, but I can’t block it out. So with everything I have left, I start to scream at this ridiculous storm, a habit I’ll keep for the rest of this expedition. I shout, “Really? That’s all you’ve got for me? I’m sure you can do better than that. Come on!”
My voice is quickly swallowed up by the thunder that’s booming again, a bit too close for my taste. I feel the ground tremble beneath my body. I look quickly at my cart and my pack, which are a mere three hundred yards away, and wish that I had put more distance between us. Both pieces of gear have metal frames that would attract lightening. The ground continues to shake at regular intervals, and despite everything, I find the spectacle beautiful. But I’ve had enough and I close my eyes for a moment. My body shudders again; I abandon myself to this earth and ask it for protection. And it’s at this exact moment that it happens. Suddenly, something happens, I’m not able to explain it, it’s as though my body no longer belongs to me, as though I am the lightening, the ground, the clouds, and the rest. I’m all of this at the same time, without distinction. I become aware that my little tree in Australia is not an end in itself. My destination is within me, everything is within me because l’m connected to the all and to everything.
My outlook is changed forever, just then, in the space of a second or two. A bit like someone put thousands of little windows all over my body, enabling me to feel and understand the exterior. But also like my interior merged with the world beyond. It changes everything. In that moment, I feel in my gut the precious bond between each living cell. It’s beyond words.
I pull myself together and look at the sky. Far away lightening bolts still tear at the dark, but the storm has distanced itself. I stand up. I’m in a state of shock, my body no longer seems to be my own; truly, something has changed in me. It will take me several days after these events to be able to function normally, by which I mean, walk, put up camp, eat, sleep, wake up, eat, pack up camp, and all the rest.”
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