Have You Had an Epiphany While Camping?

When I was younger, I worked at the Grand Canyon. It was my off day, and I and some co-workers were going to do some rock climbing above Horseshoe Mesa. I play dulcimer and had brought it along. I was sitting near the edge of the canyon playing my dulcimer when a large shadow moved over me. I looked up to see a large bird flying off to the east. I continued watching, and as it turned I could see that it was a bald eagle. I continued playing, and the bald eagle kept flying over the canyon in a big swooping circle. As I sat there, the eagle came back around and flew just 10 feet in front of me. As I watched and played, the eagle turned it’s head and looked directly at me as it flew by. I concluded that the bald eagle was listening to me play and had come back around to hear more of this curious sound.

Great story, I have one myself… I was alone camping in the back of my 4runner in Death Valley, just to get away from L.A. for a week of meditation and photography. Coincidentaly I had arrived during the biggest meteor shower is the last century so I just laid back watching the show listening to Miles Davis with a little herb. I actually had a religious experience and discovered a lot about myself and life in general. Camping is wonderful I can’t live without it.

THAT is why I go camping! Each time I go back to nature, it is for the spiritual renewal.
After a few days, I become as one with the environment I chose, and the wildlife accepts me as part of the landscape. I always get a thrill to have birds around me, and even coming over to perch on my knee or hand. Possums come up to me at night for a bit of communion. My mornings are filled with a glorious choir of birdsong.

If I am troubled, then the solitude heals my hurts, and gives me answers to my questions.
I always leave with reluctance, but my spirit is peaceful

I agree with Bev, above.

I flee my so thoroughly urban life to reconnect to my soul. I don’t go to church, I go to the woods… That is where god is.

I had a bad sore throat last June, went to, ER.Because I am asthmatic, an infection causes me to wheeze, the Physician’s Assistant ordered a chest x-ray. I got a call the next day (Sunday) to call for appt next day. A CAT scan was ordered! I was diagnosed with lung cancer. If not for the PA going a step beyond, My cancer wouldn’t have been found until it was too late. As it was, I had surgery to remove left lower lobe. Because it was found so early, I did not need radiation or chemo. I will have CAT scans every 6 months for several years then annually.

There is always an epiphany waiting to happen when you spend time alone in the wilderness. There isn’t much to do, especially if you are alone, except to think. Being alone with your thoughts can be a scary, but good thing!

While I can find God anywhere I am, I feel especially connected to Him in the wilderness He created.

Life is like the morning fog. When it burns away, all that will remain will be our pursuit of things eternal. I don’t know how anyone can spend time in the wilderness and still conclude that we are purely material and all this happened by chance and has no real meaning.

Once in Northern Ontario where I have camped yearly for
over 45 years we saw the Northern Lights at their best.
We were camping at Green Water Provincial Park close to Cochrane Ontario. Almost the whole population was up at midnight oooing and awwing at the spectacle. Due to lack of artificial light just the stars were nice but this one night was superb. I defy anyone to say there is no God!

No, not while I was camping, but I did have a Mama bear and three cubs in the tree in our front yard one day and also a bear on the back deck on evening.

This is the gist of my camping epiphany. It’s in the form of a joke I once heard:

An American businessman was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The Mexican replied only a little while.
The American then asked why didn’t he stay out longer and catch more fish? The Mexican said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs. The American then asked, but what do you do with the rest of your time? The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life, senor.”
The American scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat, with the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise.”
The Mexican fisherman asked, “But senor, how long will this all take?” To which the American replied, “15-20 years.” “But what then, senor?”The American laughed and said that’s the best part. “When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions.”"Millions, senor? Then what?”
The American said, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”

David for those who don’t know a dulcimer is like a guitar with harplike sounds FYI. In Florida we have a person who plays that instrument with only 5 strings

An epiph? Of course. It would be hard to imagine anyone going camping and not having one. Even if it occured the moment your wife told you that you were helping with the dishes…. Say what? People acyually do dishes in the wild?

When I went to sixth-grade camp we had an astronomy night. Our counselors were pointing out the constellations and describing them to us. I couldn’t see what they were talking about and was unusually quiet. My teacher noticed this and asked me if I could see many stars. I said, no, just a few. She then removed her cat eye, rhinestoned glasses and handed them to me. Try these, she suggested. I did, and a whole sky full of strs was revealed. Needless to say, my perspective of our world changed forever.

I have camped alone and friends say to me, “aren’t you scared?” But I think, “no…I have never been frightened at a campsite.” My camp neighbors are usually friendly and ask if I need anything. Probably more frightened in the city around the crime!!!!

A non-denomiational sunrise service(every Sunday, we learned) was held on the hilltop at San Simeon State Beach Park. It couldn’t have been more perfect, with nothing to sit on but massive logs cut into “benches”.

As though on cue, birds, squirrels and even lizards came in to peacefully listen to the sermon, and watch the sun peek over the clouds to greet us. Unspeakably moving and beautiful.

It made my husband and me chuckle all the way home the next day when passing by,oh, let’s just say a very famous and obscenely large cathedral in Orange County. We’d just been closer to the spirit of God that day sitting on a couple of logs, than we’d ever have been in a multi-million dollar building. Talk about blessigns!