Impermanent Joy #2

A few years ago, I did my first Vision Quest. The wind was howling as I tried to create my little shelter by tying my big, silver tarp to an old, ragged juniper tree on one side and some large, sandstone rocks on the other. The wind and I worked against each other for what seemed like hours. Every time I thought I had the tarp all nice and tight, it would sag somewhere. A saggy tarp is a nice place for water to puddle. Since it was looking like rain was coming in, I felt an urgent need to create a useful shelter from the storm.

At one point, a corner grommet tore off of my tarp. I would say that at that moment, despair was a possible option. Not that it would solve my problem.

THEN I remembered a trick that I was taught. The technique was suggested as a way to tighten the middle of a tarp, but I figured that it just might work for a corner as well. Sure enough, I successfully tied up a little pebble in the corner of the tarp and that created a little "button" that I could wrap the rope around in order to tie up that corner.

I don't know how to convey the exhilarating feeling of empowerment that moment gave me.

I got my tarp all prettied-up right before the rains started and pulled my pack and sleeping bag in before they got wet.

The joy that I felt when I figured out how to handle my situation seems to be an illusive sort of thing, so I keep that piece of torn-off tarp on my desk as a reminder that I have everything I need.






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