Andy
Sitting on a park in Vienna after a huge thunderstorm during which I
feared for my own life, I find a moment of tranquility and reflection.
Earlier on I had walked down into the
city to have a wander about. As I strolled along in a semi-trance, the
thick air made my head woozy and my skin clammy. Hot and humid
throughout the day, dark clouds gathered far on the horizon. The blue
sky lifted away, invaded by a heavy blanket of thick white, promising
an unpredictable change in the weather but not giving any clues away.
Drifting along I reached a pedestrian crossing and stood absorbed in
my head waiting automatically for the time to cross. The stream of cars
moved in front of me, tonnes of metal passing within a metre of my
comparatively frail shell.
I glanced at the sky, not much change, just overcast and a little
hazy. Then it happened. With no warning and within a fraction of a
second, the loudest thunderclap I have ever heard occurred, seemingly
simultaneously with a huge bolt of fork lightning which struck
something about 1 block to my left. At this precise moment every person
in the direct vicinity, momentarily jumped, and then cowered towards
the ground. Within 30 secs I experienced complete fear, a shared shock
and relief of being alive with the person standing next to me at the
crossing, panic and the uncontrollable urge to walk around like a
headless chicken, then a survival instinct to get underground or in a
building.
For the next 3 minutes I walked quickly down into an underground
tram station, looking around me at the reaction of others. I felt
myself feeling disbelief at whether what I had just experienced had
actually happened or just been a daydream, as everyone looked much
calmer than I felt. Lightning and further loud thunderclaps occured but
nothing like the first one. It was the closest I have ever been to a
lightning bolt and was so unexpected.
The incident was exciting and interesting because the fear and
subsequent relief at being alive after having nature open up so
violently. It caused me to reflect on the human survival instinct and
the ability of nature to act without warning and with incredible power,
completely ripping me from my comfortable, trancelike mindset partly
induced by the urban environment. The familiar routine of the cogs of
the city and people moving around me.
On our journey, I am more aware of my own need to survive that I was
at home in a routine job. Finding food and water will become more
difficult as we head into less developed countries. Unfamiliar
situations on a daily basis will require us to use and extend our wits
and skills.
This involvement in one’s own personal management and responsibility
to stay alive is incredibly rewarding. It has the potential to become
lost in the easy living western world with instant electronic
communication, convenience food etc. The effort is taken out of being
sociable, moving from place to place, and staying alive instead the
focus is shifted towards earning money and having more and more
material possessions. With these things we become more disconnected
from our environment which is the life support system for the survival
of our species.
With less connection to the environment, it is increasingly out of
our minds and respect and becomes an abstract entity in its own right.
However, on the flip side, getting out into the environment and
enjoying it, from my experience, develops a deep respect and
understanding of it. Doing something like riding a bike along a forest
trail on a cool crisp sunny morning is an intensely enjoyable way to
get up, get the adrenalin and endorphins pumping and it is so
accessible and of course free, apart from getting a bike in the first
place.
So to conclude, do something to get out into the natural environment
and enjoy it, go walking cycling or just go out of the city. Maybe,
grow some of your own food, its cheap and rewarding. Try visiting http://www.rivercottage.net/ to find out about this sort of thing. Do something to get back in connection with your own survival and environment.
