Mariposa
When I was young, I was lucky enough to spend most of my time exploring the wilderness. While other kids played in their rooms or backyards, I explored miles of creeks, hills, fields, and gullies. While other kids were watching Raiders of the Lost Ark, I pretended to be Indiana Jones, exploring cliffs and deep valleys with vines and roots hanging down to the water’s edge. While it didn’t do wonders for my ability to socialize as a child, it did foster a sense of wonder and curiosity. My parent’s house and land were part of a larger community that, at the time, mainly belonged to my relatives, so I could explore it all and have endless adventures. Back then, the urban sprawl hadn’t yet encroached upon the community, so deep woods surrounded us with multiple creeks, ponds, and springs. To the eyes of a child, it was a magical place. Its name was Mariposa.
Even when I grew older, the mystique of the place never diminished. I never forgot my uncle’s tales of Native American burial grounds and abandoned gold mines. One look at the collection of artifacts my uncle had unearthed behind his house, and I had no reason to doubt. I have even panned for gold in the creek and have a small vial of gold for my efforts. As a child, how could the real world compare to the wonder of the woods and all the legend it housed within it?
A friend once told me she wished she could get as excited about our everyday intricate details as I am. She found it insane that I could take a walk and notice ladybugs in the bushes or a tiny insect walking along the path. To me, it was natural. I honed all those skills walking the woods of Mariposa. It taught me to pay attention to the little things around me. It fostered a sense of curiosity in me that I’ve never lost. It might have been blunted a little here and there by a world determined to grind me down, but my sense of wonder has never left me.
I always considered that wilderness a respite away from the hustle and bustle of the everyday world. I can still remember the peace of sitting in the woods; the only sound is the wind rustling through the trees. But maybe there was more to it than that. Back behind my parents’ house, there was a place where two creeks came together. An area where two bodies of water come together is often called a confluence point. In the past, different religions have seen confluence points as sacred areas. While I don’t prescribe to a religion, I cannot dispute that those woods carried a certain mojo that I cannot explain.
Of course, time marches on. Most of the relatives from that area have either passed away or moved. As a result, most of that land no longer belongs to my family. The only land still intact is my parent’s land and that of my uncle next door. Also, urban sprawl means you can’t journey deep into the woods anymore. You can go back into the woods, but the back of the property now sits up against a housing development. So, even though some family land still exists, the Mariposa of my youth is already gone. But the lessons I learned from it are not. The curiosity that it fostered in me is intact. As is the lesson that if life gets too much, you can always find respite in nature. I spend too much time staring at a computer screen these days, but I’ve learned to keep it balanced by spending as much free time outdoors, preferably digging in the dirt or resting under a shade tree.
So, in the spirit of those woods of my youth, I’ve created a YouTube channel titled Mariposa Relaxation Videos. I wanted to title it Mariposa, but that name was already taken. Regardless, the purpose of this channel is simple. I plan on populating it with different videos incorporating nature & art accompanied by relaxing music. My intent is for it to be a respite from your daily grind. A destination where you can practice some self-care. A place where we can all unwind from the ever-escalating drama of the “real world.” I hope that you’ll stop by and visit it as often as you need. It will have done its job if it helps one person ease their tension and worry. The way things are going nowadays, we could all use a little peace and quiet.
You can find it at www.youtube.com/@mariposarelax.
– Ryan
