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Zen and the Art of Geocaching

By:  Lumberjack Tom

 

In 1974 an unknown writer named Robert Pirsig wrote a book called, “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.” A novel in which the main characters reconcile science, religion and humanism, it quickly became a popular hit, then continued to enthrall a cult following to this very day. In some ways it replicated the experience of Richard Brautigan’s short novel, “Trout Fishing in America,” which similarly had nothing to do with fishing, except that, instead of ending up on the shelves of sporting goods stores, it wound up in many a motorcycle shop, mystifying both owner and customer alike.

Both novels dealt with understanding and repairing the human psyche in our modern world.

Maybe someone should write a book entitled. “Zen and the Art of Geocaching.” Why? Because we, as geocachers who have embraced this sport during its fledgling years, are already witnessing some significant changes in how we perceive—and execute—the game. If you’re an oldtimer in this sport, think back to the good old days of ’02 or ’03. Back then there were far fewer caches and cachers than there are today. The sport was still a novelty, the technology was still fairly simplistic, and the overall ambience was one of naďve fascination. The sport was just plain fun.

“Okay,” you ask, “Are you suggesting that the sport is no longer fun?”

No way! But this is where the “zen” part enters the equation. Zen is a school of Buddhism that asserts that enlightenment comes through meditation rather than blind faith. Followers of zen apply its introspective principles to every aspect of their conscious lives. Basically, this involves asking appropriate questions about life’s choices, then pondering the variables before making an “enlightened” real-world decision.

In my humble view, I see relevance in applying that same kind of introspection to how we pursue our sport, if for no other reason than to come to grips with the proliferating growth and evolving changes confronting us. For example, several years ago, with very few caches to log, there was little question that we would go out of our way to log each and every cache that we could reasonably, or even unreasonably, get to. Today, however, we have caches popping up all over. Do we drop everything and go after them? Well, in most cases that would be a big 10-4, but the problem here is that with so many new ones showing up, we begin to feel that we HAVE to go after them, lest we feel inadequate or second-rate or uncommitted. (A consequence of the desire to knock down as many caches as we can might just be our fascination with “milestones,” which, I feel, can threaten to undermine our original fascination with the sport. I mean, do we REALLY want to get on another treadmill?)

The upshot of the zen aspect of geocaching, as with life itself, is that we are going to be presented with an ever-expanding pallet of choices related to the sport. Each of us has to come to grips with these choices. Do I go after this type of cache, or this cluster over here? Do I upgrade my GPSr system to reflect the latest technology that someone else just acquired? Do I limit caching to so many days of the week if I forget the name of my youngest child? Do I let AirRaidFan throw me another zinger (just kidding…)?

Confronting the ever-increasing variety in our rapidly evolving sport naturally increases anxiety and dissonance. We have to make decisions of proportion. We have to compromise. We have to regain perspective. We have to understand that we may occasionally have to put off caching for a day or two to tend to family matters, mow the lawn, re-stock the pantry—whatever. Rather than blindly pursue geocaching to the exclusion of everything else, we may have to include it in the hierarchy of life’s other necessities, like eating, sleeping, etc.

In a nutshell, regardless of our sport’s allure, attractive as it is, each of us must decide how we will integrate it into our everyday lives. Basically, it’s a matter of taking control, without which there can be no enlightenment. I can assure you that, having lived with Smee for many years, taking control IS a more viable option than waiting for a smart smack to the side of the head. That’s enlightenment, too, but of a more painful kind.

That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

 

 

 

 

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