When an intention is set, you never know exactly how it will manifest.
I want to see deer today, Maria proclaimed at breakfast. Her eyes sparkled and she was excited about the possibility of this intention manifesting. All week we had all been hoping to see deer. It was the penultimate day of the retreat and we were going to hike to the summit of the island.
We set off for the hike and are naturally silent as we move through the heather and clamber over rocks here and there. I can see why the island was an inspiration for JM Barrie’s Neverland (Peter Pan). It’s idyllic wildness is magical.
There is no defined path and we’re all focused as lack of attention could lead to a mishap. We reach the summit without much ado and enjoy the spectacular scenery of neighbouring islands, the loch and the vastness of the Atlantic ocean.
The descent is another story. It would be more challenging than anticipated. Instead of going back the way we came, we decided to try another route although it was not totally clear from the map. The island is just over 5 kilometres so we cannot get lost.
We start the descent, which turned into a three hour adventure (It was only a one-hour hike to the summit) .
The terrain is rugged and wild and in places the descent is quite tricky. Someone
questions why we decided to choose this route down. Everyone is super present and focused on where feet are being placed and the terrain generally. We are immersed in the nature around us. We haven’t encountered any other people and it’s like being in a different world.
Suddenly, the hiking leader, softly says, “shhh”. He starts to tip toe forward and we all do the same. Then we see three deer gracefully sprinting away. We are all delighted and excited. We watch as they disappear out of view.
Looking ahead we see that our way down is blocked by the deer fence. We scratch our heads. Going back up the hill is not an option. The only way forward is to get over that fence. Some reconnaissance shows a fairly accessible way over the fence by going to the top of some rocks that are more or less level with the fence.
The hiking leader goes first and then one at a time the rest of us follow working as a team and helping each other safely over the fence. Once on the other side of the fence we are back to easier terrain and split up - most of us head back to the cottages and couple go to the beach.
The hike was not free of personal drama. Choices and decisions made in the moment were questioned. Issues about not being heard rose to the surface. I dropped my banana skin thinking it was okay because it was biodegradable and was angrily reprimanded for this by the hike leader who does a lot of mountaineering. This was an incorrect assumption and I thanked him for bringing it to my attention.
I saw an article online yesterday, which stated that it can take two years, I think it was, for banana skin to decompose in the cold climate. It is alien to the Scottish Highlands and over time can become a problem for the environment including birds and animals that eat banana skin and other fruit peel. It’s actually a problem on Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the UK, and other mountain regions with increasing numbers of people climbing the mountains each year.
Once we returned some analysis took place. Why had we decided to take such a whacky descent from the summit. Then, we remembered Maria’s intention about seeing deer today.Perhaps the way ‘chosen’ was all about seeing deer.
The moral of the story for me is never to assume that what works in one environment is okay in another. And, don’t leave banana skin and orange peel on mountains. Take these ‘organic’ litter with you.
Plus, when an intention is set (seeing deer), you never know exactly how it will manifest. It is important to specify clearly WHAT you want. Most of the time when we want something, we don’t know exactly how it will be attained and can get stuck on “how” with no clarity about what is desired.
