he magnificence of the Amazon humbles you. It touches you deeply, reaching unexpected places. It reveals your fragility making it clear we are all just a spark of light. Yet, an essential, infinite, interconnected and unique one.
The first night I thought: we should have booked a shorter stay. I’m going to get bored. I should be writing. I should be doing xyz, xyz, xyz…
The mind. That never satisfied mind we have trained to make us slaves from all the doing, needing and never enoughness.
Fortunately, by the end of day 2, the vibrant, powerful, loud, constant sounds of nature conquered, quieting completely all that nonsense. Of course, the fact that there was no cellphone or wifi signal, eased the magic.
Calm, joy, connection and being, followed.
I was absolutely present in the external and internal journey taking place.
Rumbling inside with the trees, the jungle music, the thunderstorms and the whispers after they end.
The numbing humid heat forces the pause. The guide sets the pace. You have not been invited to walk on your own. If the native sage leaves, you are lost.
Limitless nature around you, the absolute resemblance of abundance and freedom at your feet. You feel whole, expanded, connected yet… you can’t take a step on your own. The jungle imposes its boundaries.
Photo: Huge Ceiba, Calanoa Reserve 2020
On one of our long walks, Jorge (the native guide) and my friend passed before me under a fallen tree. Without acknowledging my hight, I went under it just as they did. I hit my head harshly. It pounded with pain. Tears started falling down my cheeks fusing with the sweat. Jorge, not knowing what to do, began telling a story about a time when he healed someone from gastric cancer using the cortex of the tree we were facing. The first tears were from the painful impact, but I could sense there were a lot more coming… not from that same place. I could not hold them. I had no specific thoughts. They just continued flowing like a river. Jorge, stared at me as he continued his tale, hoping it would stop the tears. Smiling back at him, I cleared them with my hands as they poured down. Eventually, they ceased and we continued walking. Something needed to be released and it did.
Photo: Calanoa Reserve 2020
At night, witnessed by infinite golden stars or lulled by a stormy rainfall, nourishing conversations with beautiful like-minded people took place. We shared in awe our appreciation for huge and magnificent things in life: words of wisdom from native medicine men, insect chants, the colour of butterflies, the smell of wet soil and the feeling of sweet breeze…
Notes: Visit Calanoa Reserve for a worthwhile transformative experience.
