Summer Solstice Reflections – Gene for Exploration

Do you have the gene for exploration?

Very much like a flash mob, almost 30 people came to walk in a harmonious and timely way for the five Summer Solstice Sunrise Walks. As I thought about this later, I realized that a strong component of what brings people to leave their warms bed and do this is the gene for exploration. This gene is something we all have!

Many people did mention at first…
that it was a little difficult to get up.

A participant shared a Haiku about the difficulty of
getting out of bed in the morning:

A Haiku about getting out of bed:
No no no no no
No no no no no no no
No no no no no.

This was met with a chuckle of understanding from all.

It’s that gene for exploration…

So how does that gene for exploration help you make the initial step to get out of bed, put your feet on the earth, and see the most magnificent sunrise?

Here’s how:
It awakens your curiosity.
And if you allow your curiosity to wake up,
you just might have the opportunity to walk the passage of time.

Can you observe the apparent stillness of the sun and find stillness of your own inner path?

To best describe the mind of the explorer I refer to University of California-Berkeley psychologist Alison Gopnik. She likens the brain of a child to that of a true explorer:

Babies’ brains,” Gopnik says, “look like [a map of] old Paris, with lots of winding, interconnected little streets. But these streets have been paved into wide boulevards in adults: More efficient, but also less flexible. Science has discovered that babies’ brains are structurally quite different from those of adults, but they also function in a way that makes them better than adults at learning new things.

In other words, babies seem to be specially designed for exploration and finding out how things work.

If you carry this spirit of playful engagement with the possibilities of the moment forward… you are the explorer.

When you take the Summer Solstice Sunrise Walk,
you do not know what the outcome will be.

The morning could be fresh with a misty light and morning dew.
Or the morning could be filled with the beautiful summer rays that warm our bodies.

Are you an explorer?

When nature is just waking up and the thin veil of light meets the morning earth, nature begins to find its magic. Get up, step out of bed, and be in the mystery: Just Do It!

Comments from Sunrise Walkers:

“Deeply moving”

“I noticed the light and felt the inward changes”

“Let me know when the next one’s happens, I will be there.”

Please share your experiences and photos from your Summer Solstice Sunrise Walk:

You are welcome to share...