With Nature We Are Infinite

Royal National Park

We are body. We are soul. We are mind.

But are we infinite?

I believe in an unbounded natural experience that can only be understood by doing. This experimental learning theory, known as creating meaning through direct experience (theory of experience), was pioneered by psychologist and education reformer John Dewey (Neill, 2005).

In order to gain infinity in the natural world, I believe to experience the beauty of life first hand, or to engulf oneself in mother earth's divinity, is to feel as endless as the vast pulse of sea and land before us.

This last weekend, I received the chance to breathe deeply and feel existence.

During my semester abroad at the University of Sydney, Australia; I chose to enroll in the course "Learning in Outdoor Education" taught by Ian Boyle. For our first natural learning experience, we journeyed to the beautiful Royal National Park for a day hike (Aug 16), located about 40 minutes away from uni.




Google Maps: Distance from the University of Sydney to Royal National Park

We started off our adventure by breaking into separate groups of about 15 students per one instructor. I was fortunate enough to receive the witty and knowledgeable Wayne Cotton as my outdoor education guide. We got to know each other through "the name game" and ice breakers. Although I had recognized some members of my group from lectures and tutorials, I had never had a long form conversation with them until this trip. Come to find out, these students were from all over the world and had a lot to share about their cultures and countries.




A photo collage of my hiking group

After getting to know surface details about one another we received a 10-15 minute period of solo time along one of the cliffs. This alone time was by far my favorite part of the adventure. The weather was chilly and overcast with slight winds and showers. At first I wasn't quite feeling up to the hike. I hadn't gotten much sleep that night on account of a long night out dancing with the mates and waking up to the cold weather didn't add to my enthusiasm. The bus ride made me nauseous and quite frankly I just wanted to crawl back in bed and catch a couple extra zzzs. My mentality changed as soon as I sat down on that cliff, opened my eyes, and inhaled deeply.

I sat by the far end of the cliff about 20 feet from the drop where the rock fell down to the cold crashing waves of the pacific ocean. The air felt refreshing and cool on my skin as I listened to nature's rumbling yet peaceful sounds.

As I sat there transfixed by nature's glory, I thought about those common topics that seem to rest within us all: What is the meaning of life? What is my purpose? How can I become a better version of myself? These questions are never easy to answer, and as such, do not have a simple black and white answer. As I pondered over my thoughts, I let my eyes wander across the endless ocean to the point where the sky and water joined forces as if to profess its yearning for affection from other natural forces as well as the human race. This thought led me to think about my life course and how insignificant some of my so called "problems" really are. I thought about taking a break from my daily routine back home and getting in touch with the very earth which sustains my existence and feeds my craving for natural adventure. Why not get away from the hustle and bustle of city life, constantly crowded with others innovative ideas, to listen to my own heartbeat and soul?  

While I idolize the city and my journalism dreams it represents, New York will always be there. On the other hand, nature's beauty and the outdoor experiences will not always be sustained. Below is a self-reflection video I made a couple days after returning from the trip: 

Initially, before the Royal National Park hiking experience, there's nothing more that I could have wanted from life than to become a successful young journo with a passion for telling the lives of the voiceless, the ones with stories worth telling and lives worth fighting for. While I still feel that same passion and drive burning within my heart, I now feel a fresh sense of purpose. A purpose that thrives off of my career objectives and humanitarian goals, almost to say, "Hey Jenn, you need some balance in your life."

My goal in journalism has always been to renew compassion within our human race; that very same compassion that has grown cold. To provide a throbbing pulse of kindness and generosity within each and every individual to connect them in a way which makes them feel more human than skin deep. I now know that before I can do this for others, I must become the best me I can become, that is, a well cultured and traveled young woman with a strong connection with the outdoors. To become a better writer, I must first become a better human. And to do that, I must experience the world with a sense of adrenaline and tranquility that can only be provided through natural challenges bestowed upon me by mother earth herself. 

After mulling over my thoughts, I was left with a sense of ease and calm. I had faced my understanding of purpose, came up with short and long term goals, and was left with Australia's magic: its natural scenery. 



A sharp contrast of water to sky



A few shots of the aqua water and colorful stone along the hike

My drastic perspective alteration of my own life can be attributed to David Kolb's model of experimental learning. Kolb, an educational theorist, created his four step model in conjunction with other theorists such as Dewey to highlight the developmental process of the exercise and to accentuate the importance of direct experience (Dewey) in learning. Kolb's four step process is as follows:

The Experimental Learning Cycle 
1) Concrete experience
2) Observation and experience
3) Forming abstract concepts
4) Testing in new situations.
(Smith, 2010)

My direct experience of being surrounded by creation in solitary fulfills the first criteria while my observation of myself in relation to the natural world satisfies number two. From this experience and observation I was able to form an in depth abstract outlook on my life's course from beginning to end. Since the hike, I have tested my new found perspective on living by setting a goal to actively explore the earth's natural brilliance every weekend, a goal I have been accomplishing thus far.

It is noteworthy to point out that this learning experience can start at any one of these four steps, since learning is a continuous cycle (Smith, 2010). Why then, should we break down our experiences into a step by step process? James Neill, the author of Experimental Learning Cycles (overview of 9 experimental learning cycle models) states that "by breaking fuzzy processes (such as learning) down into distinct stages (such as a 4-stage model), the idea is that we can better understand, test out, and make use of the main components" (Neill, 2010).  Therefore, if we can grasp our own series of thinking, we can then use it as a guide in other situations that befall our way.

After becoming familiar with my own mentality that day and how my thoughts jump from one complicated topic to another, I felt adequate enough to stand up with confidence and trudge forward with a clearer view of who I was and who I wanted to become.

What started out as a gruesome morning turned into an uplifting and exhilarating experience. All from spending 10 minutes alone with nature. From then on, the chilly weather nor my responsibilities back home did not once enter my mind. Instead, I focused on the trail before me and the learning experiences left along the way.

During a portion of the hike I brought up the tail end of the group. Here is a picture of a couple students walking ahead of me as I immersed myself in the scenery.

References:

Neill, J. (2010, November 14). Experiential Learning Cycles.wilderdom.com. Retrieved August 26, 2014, from wilderdom.com/experiential/elc/ExperientialLearningCycle.htm

Neill, J. (2005, January 26). John Dewey, the Modern Father of Experiential Education. wilderdom.com. Retrieved August 26, 2014, from http://www.wilderdom.com/experiential/ExperientialDewey.html

Smith, M. K. (2001, 2010). ‘David A. Kolb on experiential learning’, the encyclopedia of informal education.  Retrieved August 26, 2014 from http://infed.org/mobi/david-a-kolb-on-experiential-learning/