Jungle Wisdom | #THINKINGHUES
Awakening to the power of nature and the impact of simple joys.
I recently spent a weekend in a remote village in Sumatra, Indonesia, where magical memories unfolded alongside simple, yet profound life lessons: simplicity can be a deliberate choice, there’s immense power in savouring life’s simple joys, and living through personal values matter more than achieving conventional success. What if living a truly meaningful life is about a life lived by your own standards versus conforming to what society expects of you?
Arriving from one bustling metropolis to another, the shift in energies between the two hubs was obvious. Venturing on a three-hour journey, post-flight, into the wild jungles of Indonesia, the atmosphere in the surrounding areas continued to transform the deeper I transversed into the edges of urban dwellings. Cows meandering by the roadside, dogs snoozing peacefully, unfazed in the middle of the street, and seemingly endless rows of palm trees adored the vast plantations that seemed to stretch to infinity. Taking in the new horizon, I admit, these were scenes alien to a city dweller like me.
Transitioning from the noise of wild engines to the honks of rush hour traffic, and the bustle of people in a hurry into the unique symphonies of life on a plantation was striking.
Reaching literally the end of the road, we had arrived in the middle of the night, at a modest village of three hundred people. Hiding in the glimmer of the half-moon and guided only by the torches on our phones, I found myself walking into the unknown with anxious yet optimistic excitement. The moment I saw the beautiful clean bed waiting for me, I fell quickly to slumber, exhausted from the long day of travel.
Leaving the confinements of a city, I often long for silence— or at least an escape from the metropolitan skyscrapers of concrete towering above me. Away from the noise of construction or the intrusive interruptions of cars, I dreamt of a space of silence. However, I realised something that day, silence doesn’t exist, as even the jungle is filled with volume as loud as any city. The main difference was that the noise that filled my ears was of a variety of animalistic sounds, reminding me of the aliveness of nature. From the flutter of insects to the moans of wild gibbons, silence was absent even in the jungle. Yet, these sounds made me feel differently from the intrusive interruptions I am all too familiar with living in a city all my life.
Upon daylight, I was greeted by a breathtakingly spectacular view of towering trees of various palettes of greens, contrasting strands of branches, and the welcomed thickness of new and old barks standing proudly above the lively river rushing below. Observing the foliage crowding the spaces, the small monkeys darting from branch to branch, there was not one bit left in my view, that was untouched by the sprawl of lush wild forest. I felt immense gratitude fill me, as immediately as the sense of relief and recharge engulfed me; my soul was singing.
Atop the melody of the river below, I made it a point to take note of how majestic the earth really is. While city living bombards you with endless to-do lists, never-ending responsibilities, and endless towers of concrete, the modern way of life often obscures the profound elegance of the natural world. Dwelling in tight spaces and narrow roads, we forget the expanse of nature. But, the moment you step foot into nature, especially when it’s untouched and unmanicured, an instantaneous connection is felt without deliberate effort. Somehow, you know, that to be in nature means just to be. That’s all I was interested in at that moment, as presence became second nature.
Submerging into the depths of the swallowing jungles and active rivers, one of the guides, Beni, said he had attempted to live in the city once. But, the bustle of city life was too overwhelming and he only lasted a month or two before returning to the lavish scenery he’s used to. One thing stood out, he kept telling me how the jungle was healing for him. Despite life’s expected stressors, having the freedom to walk into the animated rivers and dance with the wild greenery in his backyard was a privilege he had taken for granted. So, returning home, with new appreciation was what he decided to do instead.
