180 Degrees South

Maybe it's because I surf, maybe it's because I've always been fascinated with climbing, maybe it's the fact that I too have dreams of exploring the Pacific coast of South America, either way I love this movie. I had seen it a few times before class however this viewing really resinated with me. Simple statements and scenes that can easily be overlooked just seemed to stick with me. One in particular that was really significant, for me, was the old Chilean man who said "I am just an old deer from the mountains.". This quote, combined with the discussion topic of who needs to reconnect to nature really impacted me; this man, like so many who live in and off the and, has no concept of reconnection to nature, he never left. If you asked this man what it meant to him to reconnect with nature he would probably stare at you funny and say "Que?"

How ironic is it that these hard-working, "uneducated" (in the academic sense of course) laborers who live more simply than most of the world today are really who we should look to for guidance. For some reason we "civilized" people feel the need to run to politicians, business executives, academics, and scientists everytime we run into a problem, desperate for answers. I just can't buy into this idea any longer. I do not believe that having set in a classroom, on a Board of Representatives, or in a lab makes you any more knowledgable than the rest of us; if anything I would say it makes you more distant.

Most people today no longer see the connections associated with everything they buy, sell, and choose. Our purchases, just like our decisions, are having global effects that we can not see. We have become blind to our own destruction. Sometimes you have to paddle out into the middle of the sea and climb to the top of the mountain to finally gain some perspective. Obviously these things can be done mentally and spiritually and don't always require physically overcoming challenges, however sometimes it takes that physical push to get your mind to follow.

Maybe one day it'll work the other way and people will actually mentally overcome obstacles and dilemnas, enabling them to change their ways. For now, however, there's a lot of us that could benefit profoundly from a trip to the top of the mountain.