Encounter of the third kind

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Encounter of the third kind

Sometimes I feel like changing my way. This morning, going to my parents’ home, I decided to setup my GPS to take the shortest path. What I got was countryside roads and… An unexpected encounter!

I immediately took my phone and two pictures of the beast. The first one has something a bit mystical, with clouds giving the impression the cow was descending from heaven (which actually renders quite well the effect the event had on me), while the second is a bit better and allows to fully consider the bovine qualities of the animal.

This is typically why I sometimes pick up unusual itineraries when I drive. I must say I wasn’t disappointed this time! You don’t come across such animals’ path every day… At least in Belgium.

Indeed it’s not the same everywhere, and memories from another encounter more than one year ago immediately popped up to my mind…

Encounter of the second kind

Yaks herds in the middle of the steppe is a common sight in Mongolia. It took me some time to get acquainted to it, though. I was first intimidated by these big, living masses, and only step by step I shortened my detours to avoid these animals…

And one day I did it! Going down a hill in the end of the afternoon, I met a herd which was probably going back “home” for the night. I was like “Hey, they have the whole steppe to walk and they choose my path?” Well, actually they also had that path to walk… Anyway, I had my two walking sticks (you can hear them) as terrific weapons, so the scared (yeah, sure) herd was changing its way as I came nearer and nearer.

I ended up crossing this black sea (it does sway a bit) slightly whistling.

Mongolians are definitely used to handle this kind of things. They ride or drive their way into herds of goats, sheeps, cows or yaks at high speed, shouting or using horns. I can easily imagine such encounters could be non-events to them.

Meeting someone is much rarer. Of course, every herd belongs to a nomad family. Their presence means there is human activity nearby. But you could sometimes travel substantial distances trying to find the owner of a yak. It is impossible to meet someone unexpectedly in the steppe. You can see kilometers far there. Each encounter with a human being is the result of a decision.

Encounter of the first kind

At the other side of the spectrum, Belgium’s population density is 150 times higher than Mongolian one. Seeing someone while walking is everything but an event. People will greet (providing weather is fine) and most of the time that’s it. I mean how many cyclists did I come across this morning without paying more attention than the road requires?

In this country we live this experience of mass anonymity, whether “in real life” or online. Becoming no one… This is a well-known unease of our modern societies. Without being a specialist of the topic, it seems obvious to me that population density is a factor playing a great role in there. When you find yourself on the same road, the same place than someone else, it’s not necessarily by choice. Most likely you don’t actually meet that person. Most of the time it’s just the result of a statistical reality: we are more and more on Earth.

Going from this statistical reality to the awareness that each of these human lives is telling a whole story just as mine requires a mindset on its own. It’s also a reality, though. It’s just more difficult to realize because of the routine.

Going off the beaten path from time to time is thus essential. I didn’t need to reinvent the wheel: a small trip in Mongolia one year ago, and this morning simple change in my GPS setup. Yes I did lose 7 minutes – cow included – compared to the usual half-hour. But I won a battle in my war against routine.

And I am sure Mongolia is not the only option. What really counts is I created my own dream and lived it.

This is how the guide Maupassant works.

Dear member of human kind,

I hope you also sometimes feel uncomfortable with mass anonymity (but only sometimes). As long as it will be the case, it means you still want to exist. All I wish you is you can live this quest with curiosity, will and peace.