Recently I was in Abisko in Swedish Lapland (Laponia) together with my daughter and it struck me after only five minutes and approximately five meters into nature how incredibly energizing this experience is – each time and always.
Abisko is a National Park and perhaps that's one key to the mystery: this vast area of serene and stark nature hasn't been polluted by people. Sure, there are a lot of people there each year but they leave nothing behind. They come, they fill their lungs with clean air, their auras with chlorophyllic saturation, drink clean water, etc, and then leave as happier individuals.
To me it is just a really plain equation: If you respect the area by adhering to just a few simple rules (Allemansrätten, the right of public access) that in itself creates a conscious consensus shared by everyone present that goes way beyond the mere common sense of not littering.
People aren't smiling and saying Hellos and nodding gaily in parks and stressed-out urban areas. But in the area specifically designated as an energy-replenishing reservoir people are very open to politeness and amicability. Is there a lesson to be learned here?
There are many interesting potentialities in this concept: "Enforcement of natural harmony". What would, for instance, be the effect if the present degenerational trend were reversed, i.e. the urban areas would be ruralized and not the other way around? Meaning: Tear down the city centers' hideous architectural monstrosities and set up huge parks and organic farming areas within city limits.
If people are supposed to move to where there is "work" (=receiving a paycheck to facilitate consuming), then it really doesn't matter if they're living one kilometer this way or that way, does it?
If people are just political pawns anyway and they're only supposed to diligently fill shopping quotas, why shouldn't they be allowed to do that in environments that at least make them considerably happier? Traditional economic counter arguments aren't valid anymore. Why? Because tearing down ugly stuff and constructing/building intelligent and organic areas is highly profitable for all involved. Enforcement of natural harmony could become a booming business.
Enough ranting and back to Abisko... Just before we reached Trollsjön (the Magic Lake) in the Kärsavagge valley we passed by a beautiful maze. It's very well constructed, five by five meters, and definitely more than just the result of a whim or some kind of instantaneous labour of love. It's simply too "off" to be something made by trekkers or hikers. So, what is it? Why is it there? Well, taking the name of the lake into consideration and also its majestically weird qualities – it's the world's third clearest lake and it has an ethereal glow which reflects up onto the slopes of the mountains – I suspect there are hocus pocus goings-on there. Either within the local Sami/Sapmi communities or by freestylers.
 |
| Amazing Maze! |
Considering also that Abisko is the best place to see the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis), this area around the lake must surely also be a haven for extraterrestrial activities and experiments. The entire Kärsavagge valley is simply so weird and otherworldly, with its massive loose rocks in strange colours that are gently subdued by grey clouds that often embed the ranges' mountain tops like cotton candy.
The scenery reminded me of two other magical hot-spots: Iceland and Tibet. I recall that Lake Manasarovar in Western Tibet also had a similar kind of unearthly glow (in that case caused in part by a high level of sulphur). In those regions near Mount Kailash, there were definitely extraterrestrial activities (and I don't mean Chinese ones only).
 |
| Trollsjön, the Magic Lake... A well-fitting name indeed! |
Some days later, as we were resting in a pretty steep downhill slope beneath the Aurora Sky Station, an old man passed by. Tall, stately, obviously a local with a nice Norrlandish dialect, he stopped for about 20 seconds to check if we were OK and chit chat about the lovely day. Then he was gone. Shortly thereafter followed a slightly younger man (late 50s) and his dog. They couldn't keep up with the pace of the father who had just passed by. "That's amazing", I said. "What an energy." The man with the dog smiled and replied, "Oh, that's nothing. I mean, he's only 82." And off they went in his father's footsteps.
So maybe there simply is something extra-invigorating in mountain-based regions? Something that generates vitality and encourages a magical apprehension of life? The stark and tough environment creates stark and tough people, regardless if it's in Laponia, Tibet, the Central European alps or Kashmir? Maybe it has nothing to do with UFOs or extraterrestrial experiments at all?
All free-floating speculation aside, nature is good, nature is beautiful and we need more of it. Especially in the urban regions. Therefore I say: Enforce natural harmony now!
 |
 |
No comments:
Post a Comment