[Republished here by permission of the authors from their “Lifestyle Tips for Over 50s,” affiliated with their website “Passionate Retirees.”]
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| “It was fascination, I know....” |
Recently, we returned from a trip overseas. The first half was spent in Israel, a remarkable land full of history and archaeological abundance, along with a highly modern and technologically advanced society. From this standpoint, Israel is a fascinating study blending the old with the new.
The second portion of our trip involved a couple of weeks in America. Ten days of our time was spent storm chasing through nine states, logging 3,300 kilometres on our vehicle. Many people both in America and back home in Australia did not know that we engaged in this sort of activity. Invariably, the question arises as to why do this?
Some people think that what we do is exciting and would love to engage in the same activity. On the road, in Nebraska, we met another Australian couple who were spending several weeks storm chasing. Other people think that we are nuts. They don’t say so to our face, but we can guess from their expressions what they are thinking. There is a reason we do what we do, and it relates to – fascination.
We find the raw power and energy of storms and occasional tornadoes to be spellbinding. When we are near severe storms, we watch them with intensity, especially if a threatening cloud is attempting to drop a tornado. These vortices are one of the most remarkable phenomena that we have on planet Earth; both destructive and beautiful at the same time.
We all have things that fascinate us. We see this especially in childhood, but apparently some of us never fully grow up. It’s a bit sad that many people lose their inner child and their ability to be fascinated by anything. It doesn’t matter what your age, state of health, or occupation, there are many things that we can all find that captivate us.
What is it that fascinates you? Is it the natural world, science, great literature, human psychology? When we find those things that are spellbinding, we become engrossed and very focused. In this state of mind, whether temporary or long-term, we are filled with a sense of purpose. When you are in that moment, everything else seems to disappear, including the troubles of the ordinary world. In other words, you become very centred in the now. In such a state of mind, all worries about the future or regrets about the past evaporate.
While everyone’s definition of fun and adventure differs, most people are looking to satisfy their inner child, thanks to the power of fascination.
| Copyright © 2018 by Dr. Ely Lazar & Dr. Adele Thomas Ely Lazar, B.Sc., D.C., is a retired chiropractor recently returned to part-time practice, and Adele Thomas, M.D., is a family practitioner. They are based near Perth, Western Australia. |
One question comes to mind; do they not have storms in Australia?
ReplyDeleteOh yes, but less frequent! In the West cyclones happen most every year, but mostly far North of Perth and North of the Tropic of Capricorn. However, one occasionally reaches Perth but to a lesser degree of severity. It's also worth pointing out that the road system here is miniscule by American standards, so not conducive to "storm chasing". Ely, you may want to give a better explanation.
ReplyDeleteEly replies:
ReplyDeleteYes, we have storms, but tornadoes and supercells are not commonplace like they are in the central plains of America. We have a cyclone (hurricane) season in the summer, in the northern part of the country.