It may be the middle of June, but as I'm writing this the sky is overcast and it just started raining. What could be a better atmosphere to try and convince you to take a break from your cozy life in the light and gaze into the abyss. Why in the world would you do this? Well, as promised, I'll try to explain it in this blog post. But first, I'll need to explain what I actually mean by that.
It's a significant part of human nature to try and conquer even the most dangerous, the most challenging and the most hostile environments of this planet. People have been to the south pole, in the middle of the desert, on the highest mountains and in the depth of the ocean. Sometimes there are good reasons for it, but more often than not, it's our curiosity, our hunger for adventure and our desire to challenge ourselves that drives us to these places. We admire the brave people who go through all these life threatening situations, just to reach a destination that few have ever visited.
Just like earth has some pretty extreme nooks and crannies, there are some really strange, terrifying and even outright dangerous places in our minds. For some reason, exploring them is not nearly as popular and much less prestigious. It's the opposite, even. We consider it healthy to stay as far away from those places as possible. We warn people about them and if someone actually does go there, we worry about it. These worries are justified. The crevices of the human mind hold countless dangers, some of which can mess up your entire life if you're not careful.
However, so does climbing Mount Everest. Every expedition into hostile lands holds dangers and might outright kill you if you're not adequately prepared. There's so many stories of people doing stupid things like driving through the desert without enough water, hiking through the Alps in sandals or jumping into a natural lake without checking its depth first. And that's probably why the dark side of the human condition has such a bad reputation. People usually stumble there by accident, without preparation, during some dark times of their life. They get stuck. They suffer. That's why we try to keep people from accidentally going there and that's why we offer help to those who are stuck there. This is very good and we should keep doing that.
But I feel like most people aren't aware of the possibility to go on a prepared, voluntary expedition of the abyss. They never knew that it's possible to go there, do a little sight seeing and leave again, without getting lost, without hurting yourself and without major changes to your life except the new experiences you've gained. I can't blame them, since you can't exactly book something like this from a travel agency. In fact, if you go on a journey to the abyss, there's no reliable way to show people the obstacles you overcame, the experiences you gained and how significant it was to you. It's nothing you can capture with a GoPro.
That still doesn't explain why you'd want to do it, though. Despite all the trouble, Mount Everest at least has a nice view, the Mariana Trench has some cool fish and desert has this amazing sense of openness, but what does the dark side of your soul have in stock? Well, the mean answer would be that you'll never find out if you don't look, but that wouldn't be very convincing. I can't give you a precise answer, though. I can only tell you that a lot of beauty hides in the dark. Its the kind of beauty you see in a deteriorating building, a venomous snake or a dying star.
There's a more practical dimension as well, though. While it is very unlikely that you'll survive a plane crash and find yourself in the jungle, it's much more likely that you encounter a difficult time in your life and fall to a dark place. Just like it's beneficial to have been to the jungle previously to survive there, it's very beneficial to have visited the dark parts of your psyche before, if you want to find your way out of them. I'd say that it's a basic survival skill to know your way around your head. Still, many people are really bad at it.
So, have I convinced you? If not, that's fine. Some adventures aren't for everyone. If I did spark your interest, though, you might wonder how to get started. Here comes the bummer, though: I'm not going to tell you. Sending you off on your own would be irresponsible. The only advice I can give you is to stay open to the idea. Opportunities might present themselves. And please make sure to always stay safe, no matter if you're climbing a mountain or descending into an abyss.
