vesterberg.se

I have recently returned from a one-week trekking in the mountains in the company of my oldest son Mattias and my dog Viggo. We visited the area west of Abisko in the very north of Sweden. It was really an adventure with many experiences of the greatness of nature. As a preparation for the trip (just for fun) I read and thought a little about survival strategies. What are the most important patterns that make people survive when they get into trouble; a plane crash, a catastrophe or when they get lost in unknown territory.

Those who survive shipwrecks, plane crashes, natural disasters and prison camps are those who are open to the changing nature of their environment, according to many psychologists. The survivors are those who notice that something changes around them and adapt accordingly.

Each one of us live with a mental model of the world, psychologists say. We see what we expect to see. We see what makes sense and what makes sense is what matches your mental model. More or less unconsciously we find reasons to exclude the information that might contradict our inner world instead of updating our view. Here comes the insidious thing. When things change around us, we don’t notice it. When the unexpected happens, we move on as usual or sit down denying the facts. We have a tendency to anticipate and predict the future based on our mental model and that puts us in trouble. We have this false sense that we are always in control.

At one point in Abisko we were a bit disoriented and were slightly on the wrong path. The landscape before us didn’t match the map as we expected. This happened at the end of the day. We had just finished a difficult passage and were hungry and tired, expecting an easy route to our next stop. We had to pause, eat some snacks (important!) and reorient, updating our mental image of our position.  We could easily have continued for miles in the wrong direction, but luckily we didn’t.

Psychologists say survivors more than others allow new information to reshape their mental model. They admit reality, accept it and work with it. They are open and curious. This rule is obvious in the nature. Those animals that adapt to changing environment survive and those who don’t become extinct. People who are rule followers don’t do as well as those who are of independent mind and spirit. Survivors question everything, sometimes annoyingly.

Trekking is a great way to learn to be a better observer. You have to look at what is around you and intelligently compare it to the map. When you walk in isolated parts of the country, losing your way can be unpleasant. This keeps you alert. You also have to look back every once in a while and memorize how your past path looks, because you might be forced to turn back.

Thankfully, we can learn to live aware and open. We ought to nourish our curiosity constantly and question what is happening. Perhaps it is a just matter of relearning, since no one is more observant and adaptive than a small child. This observant and adaptive lifestyle might save our life one day.

I am sure you have had moments when you felt especially close to nature. It could have been a sunset or when you met a deer in the forest. It could have been hearing birds singing an early morning in the spring. I believe that these moments are precious. No, more than that. They are important, very important. We should seek these experiences or rather expose ourselves to them. But you can’t command or control them. You have to take the time, be still out in nature and wait for them.

I spent time trekking and living in a tent in the Swedish mountains at two occasions this summer. I was at the bare mountain region where the clouds are sailing. It was a great experience. Up there in the stillness with no people in sight (except my fellow-trekker) I took the opportunity to “connect” to nature and the wildlife. We had sunny days, which are great. Stormy weather (the wind can be very strong up there) and fog can also be positive experiences if you let them. I remember standing in a vast valley with the strong wind blowing through me. I remember seeing the clouds pass by close and I was profoundly affected.

- Hmm, what do you mean by that?

I can’t describe it really. I felt small and at the same time surrounded and embraced by nature. Now afterwards I feel that my relation to nature has changed. The wind and the clouds somehow feel familiar. Does it sound spooky to you?

I believe one of the reasons that man can destroy nature without hesitating, is that he hasn’t gazed in the eyes of a wild deer long enough.

Tell me reader, have you had experiences like these?