It's Easy to Be Enlightened on a Remote Mountaintop

A friend once told me about how his plant medicine teacher travelled to a remote village in Peruvian Andes. She had to walk for a few days through desolate mountains and valleys in crisp and thin air. After a long journey she reached her destination and was struck by the immaculate vibes. The whole village was peaceful and serene, everyone seemed to live in harmony with the plants and animals around them and with each other.

- How are you doing this? - she asked the villagers - This must be the most peaceful and harmonious place on Earth!
- You know, it’s actually easy when you’re this far away from the world - they said - But staying this peaceful in the city? Now that would be a real challenge!

Even though I never lived on a remote mountaintop, I can totally relate to what the villagers said. I’m a different person when travelling in the RV or on a quiet hippie beach, a more grounded, peaceful and joyous one. Having trees, mountains, and lakes welcome me right at my doorstep does wonder to my health and wellbeing, and so does being able to lie down in grass right where I am. In my city apartment I have to cross 7 different doors, cover long stretches of corridors, take an elevator, and then still walk down a flight of stairs to get outside. Lying down in clean grass that’s not covered in trash or dog poop requires walking another 20 minutes.

The same friend told me about famous plant medicine maestros he’s met, who lived their whole lives in the jungle studying the ways of plants, animals, and their own tribal elders. In recent years they started traveling around the world to share their medicine wherever it’s needed the most. He said that after a day or two in the city they already miss their jungle home. They’re so attuned to the faintest subtle signals that the city hustle gives them sensory overload.

If life in nature is so much more harmonious and peaceful, why do I still live in a city? Especially a city like Warsaw that is soaked in sadness and grief? I ask myself this question almost every day. So far the most important reason to stay is being close to our parents. My daughter loves her grandparents so much, I wouldn’t want her to only meet them once or twice a year.

But even if my whole family moves all together to the mountains, cities aren’t going anywhere. More than half of all people currently alive live in a city. By the time my daughter grows up, it will be 70%. The future generations are even more likely to live their whole lives in noise, crowds, and stress.

Is there a way to live in a big city and stay happy and sane? Every day I’m trying to figure it out for myself. Between yoga classes, massages, spa, or cacao ceremonies, there’s plenty of services available here that I wouldn’t have on a remote mountaintop. The biggest challenge seems to be getting to know people, making friends, building lasting relationships. There are 300 families living just in my building, and I hardly know anyone.

Either way, if our civilization is going to survive, we’d better find a way for people in big cities to stay connected and feeling loved. Now that’s a real challenge, how to take all the wonderful insights one might have had in the jungle or on the mountaintop, and apply them in a crowded city neighborhood with too much trash and not enough parking spots. And for as long as I happen to live in one, I might as well give it a try myself.