Leslie Van Gelder really has me thinking, doing some soul-searching. She talks about her experience in the wilderness--literally in the wilderness--and how this relates to our personal processes of individuation.
A few people are comfortable in any wilderness, she says, because of life experience. In fact, they quickly convert what others see as "wilderness" into the "wild life" place of refuge. I certainly haven't gotten to that point yet, but would love to be there. She says such people quickly are able to turn wildernesses into a habitation for wild life and humans together. Translating that into the unknown things over which we have little or no control, but still maintain a high degree of comfort, so that we co-exist with the unpredictable and very quickly integrate that into our lives, almost seamlessly.
It dawned on me recently that the people I have the most difficulty relating to, in all the world, are those who have an extremely low tolerance for the wilderness. Maybe that's because I am quickly perceived as BEING the "wild" one to most people. My husband says I scare a lot of folks to death.
Maybe so. Maybe I don't care most days, if it means having to give up my own comfort as much as it seems I have to. If I sound a little conflicted and confused, you are reading me right--at least for the moment. Sorting is SUCH hard work, even in the "wild."
