A Moment of Clarity

As I write this story, I am brought back to a moment that I remember so fondly. A time when I finally came to the realization that we, as humans, are so small in this immense world. I stood on this boardwalk in September 2016 while studying abroad in Australia, took a look around, and realized how very small I was compared to the vast rainforest that I was in. Only being 21 at the time, I was still naive to many realities of the world. Having moved much of my belongings to Australia, completely on my own, for the next six months, I was quickly awoken to how big our world is. This “awakening” happened through many experiences, but this experience certainly sticks out the most, and will be one that I remember for the rest of my life.

For as long as I can remember, I have loved the outdoors. From simply riding my bike around outside as a child to going on multiple-day backpacking trips with my dad and brother, or even just reading a book in the grass somewhere, nature is where I have always felt at home. But this day, while hiking to Kondalilla Falls in Queensland, Australia, I felt more connected to our Earth than ever before. I remember having to stop in my tracks and I just took a few minutes to look around. I looked straight up and realized that the trees around me were towering higher than any trees I’d ever seen. In that moment, I remember thinking to myself “wow, nature truly is the most incredible part of our existence.” As silly as it sounds, I really felt nature speaking to me in this moment. It was a moment of true clarity, where I felt that nature told me to disconnect from my day-to-day and to connect with my present. What really struck me in this moment is that this wasn’t even the most ‘disconnected’ place I’ve been to. Honestly, it was pretty highly trafficked and I had seen many people so far on my hike. I have done hikes before where there wasn’t another soul and I was so deep in the woods that no one would ever find me if anything went wrong. But I think that the fact that this was more “people-friendly” is why I felt this so deeply. It was as if nature was telling me to connect not only with the Earth, but to connnect with my fellow human beings around me. I knew for a fact, that I couldn’t remember one face that I’d seen so far on my hike, which gave me a sudden sense of sadness. Why was I out here, in this amazing place, just letting all the people pass by without even acknowledging their existence? After that very moment, I made sure to keep my head up and smile, or strike up a conversation with other hikers around me. And, in all honesty, it was likely one of the best hikes I’ve been on to this day, for that very reason. It truly is amazing what a difference it can make in your day, or even your life, if you have friendly conversation with strangers. I met people from all walks of life, from all over the world, and some that were from five miles away. But with each person that I met, a different life perspective came, and that kind of human interaction is one-of-a-kind my friends.

It is so easy when you’re hiking, or doing any outdoor activity for that matter, to be in your own world and focus solely on the activity at hand. To me, that seems like the opposite of what I’m trying to accomplish when I’m out in nature. This day, and many to follow, taught me one of the best life lessons: to always stay aware, stay connected, and to give a simple smile to the people around you.

* A quick note about how and why I edited this photo. I used Lightroom to edit this photo. I did not use a preset, but I adjusted the lighting and the saturation to match my memory of the day. I wanted the photo to have a little bit more of a “mood” to it because that is how I will always remember the moment that I stood there just looking around. I played around with lighting and colors while editing it, until I finally got it perfect. The photograph will now forever match the memory of my favorite hike.