The Rainforest As A Metaphor: My Recent Trip To the Amazon

I just got back from 7 days in the Amazon Rainforest in Peru.

My packing list included bug spray, sunscreen, anti-malarial medicine, hiking boots, and anything and everything that included the words "quick dry" or "moisture wicking."

The Amazon is hot, very very hot. It is also humid, very very humid. The bugs are huge, the terrain rough, and wild life is plentiful, the accommodations are…"rustic."

To say this city-turned-beach girl was out of my comfort zone would be an understatement. Add to that the fact that my travel companions were one new acquaintance and five strangers, and I was definitely being stretched beyond my norm. (Meeting new people can be as terrifying to me as gigantic spiders.)

The days included waking up at 4:30am, multi-hour long hikes through the jungle drenched in sweat, while simultaneously swatting away and being bitten by dozens of different insects.

The days also included, watching sunrises and sunsets, learning to identify birds by their call, seeing animals that I've only read about, boat rides, learning about how perfectly sustainable the planet and ecosystem were designed, and getting to know, rely on and even love a bunch of people I hadn't known a week prior.

Had I known in advance how physically and mentally challenging this trip would be, I most likely would have talked myself out of it.

I am so thankful I didn't. With great challenges, come great rewards.

I challenged myself physically, mentally and emotionally. I overcame a lot of fears; some real--some imagined.

And an interesting thing happened as I was learning about the interconnectedness of the Rainforest, how every life in the ecosystem has a role, how nothing happens by accident. I began to consider, that, although not obvious to the naked eye, maybe that's how life works for humans as well. Maybe without knowing it, we each have a role and purpose, Maybe our individual lives contribute to a connectivity and story bigger than we can imagine and more than we will ever know.

Maybe much like how the tree bears fruit, to feed the monkey, which releases the seed miles away, which spawns a new tree, which continues the cycle, we do this too, on a more ethereal level.

An action we take today, may cause a chain reaction of events that we will never know the magnitude of in our lifetime. This is an honor. It is also a huge responsibility. Unlike the tree, we get to choose what kind of "seeds" we plant if we are mindful of our thoughts and actions.

I had been feeling a bit lost and directionless lately. Questioning the purpose of my life and the meaning of life in general. While I didn't walk away with the answer, my trip to the Amazon showed me that maybe there is a point to it all. Maybe it's not for me to know, because maybe, just maybe, it's bigger than I am.

I like that idea. I like it