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The spirituality and magic of the mountain : Man, nature and the reason for travel

Pierre Lainé - Writer, La Motte Servolex, France

 

One of the most surprising social phenomena of our time is the grouping together of humanity in the towns, cities and their suburbs. Some countries have eighty percent or more of their population living in urban areas. The phenomenon concerns both rich and, for sometimes different reasons, poorer countries. On the eve of the new millennium this movement can be seen to be accelerating throughout the world, the consequences of which have not yet all been discovered.

This stupendous change in the grouping of populations effects tourism, in particular when town life is accompanied by an increase in standards of living and a greater quantity of leisure time. The concentration of housing gives rise to the desire for larger open spaces and new horizons. For those living in an artificial environment, nostalgia remains for the forest, the plains, the sea or the mountain. They want to "find them" and also to "find themselves" again, have a break and take stock of their life which is now dominated by the aggravation of city life. It is true that new products now exist in this artificial environment in the shape of game parks and parks of attraction which satisfy the need for escapism and leisure.

However, these new tourist attractions, which only cater for short breaks, can only partly compete with more usual tourist destinations. Moreover, holiday periods are increasingly spread out over the year and spending a weekend at Disneyland does not prevent people from going on holiday or from venturing off on the tourists trail.

The reason for travel can not only be found in the desire for a break with daily routine, but also in the choice of holiday destination. Thus, the traveller who leaves the town and its restraints and chooses a holiday in the mountains is looking to find somewhere which is good for his physical health and spiritual wellbeing. It is not always a fully reasoned choice.

Sometimes the appeal or calling to go to the summits comes from within and sometimes the choice is due to the memory of a previous mountain visit, where special, exhilarating and almost magical moments were experienced.

Let us look into a few of the key reasons given by those who have chosen to spend their leisure time in the mountains and who, because of the physical effort involved, will have the chance to open up spiritually and hence benefit from a closer relationship with nature.

GOING UP - As the great Swiss writer and poet, Ramuz liked saying, "with or without metaphor the mountain teaches you to lift yourself higher". If physical effort teaches the body, it is the mind that guides you towards the top. Going up, drawing oneself up towards the summit, can mean, among other things, an accepting of transcendence. Consequently, the height we try to reach represents what is beyond man and what, paradoxically, can be achieved when man is fully content.

RELINQUISHING - Whether a tourist, hiker or mountaineer, walking in the mountains, going up a mountain path or climbing a rock face, requires carrying as little luggage as possible. Only what is strictly necessary must be taken. Superfluous items must be abandoned. The mind too has to be emptied of its usual thoughts. This uncommon relinquishment is an introduction to asceticism.

EXCELLING ONESELF - By overcoming gravity, gathering up the courage to conquer tiredness, confronting obstacles and using all one's resources to continue. Gaston Rébuffat, member of the famous "Compagnie des guides" in Chamonix, wrote in one of his books about climbing a steep rock face "Where there is will, there is a way" (1). The mountain is a school which teaches how to strengthen the body and provides character to overcome life's difficulties.

CONTEMPLATION - Is allowing oneself to be overcome by the magical sight of the splendour of the peaks, forests, prairies, fauna and flora and to rejoice at the beauty and spiritually of it all. With an admiring gaze, contemplation nourishes the soul. What has been contemplated is thus engraved within. Have we not all kept in our memory the vision of a magnificent mountain view which we marvelled over ? This vision sometimes floods back into our memory allowing us to relive its beauty.

MEDITATION - Without necessarily religious connotations, contemplation often leads to meditation. The marvellous sight of an alpine panoramic view encourages man to detach himself from his materialist preoccupations, his mind opens out and he moves onto another level of existence. Paradoxically, his gaze, which is lost in infinity above the peaks, leads him to interiorise. Perhaps he will go on to question himself on his role in the universe, on the meaning of his life and his destiny.

As well as the key factors which I have just raised, I stress how much the need for contact with nature and for human beings to resource themselves must be considered. The stereotyped categories of fashionable case studies (2) which tend not to delve into people's highest aspirations are now gradually taking these needs into account. In a recent report, the sociologist Jean Viard revealed "that the demand of the consumer, traveller or tourist appears to be a demand "for a meaning" in answer to the lack of meaning in his own life". Therefore, attractive places are the ones that answer these needs (3). The mountain is one, if not the most favourable, of these places, as it offers silence, authenticity, an encounter with nature and the provides the opportunity to resource oneself. To back up this belief, I could mention one of the vocational aspects of the mountain regions: since the beginning of time, crowds of pilgrims have, throughout the world, visited countless mountain sites, which are acknowledged as being sacred with some of them offering sanctuaries. Monasteries, lamaseries, hospices, and hostels welcome, sometimes at very high altitude, various religious recluses who come to resource themselves spiritually. Think of, amongst others, the sites at Abu and of the high grottoes of the Armanath mountain in India, of the T'ai-chan and lO-mei chan in China, of Fujiyama and of Ontake in Japan, of Mont Arafa on Islamic soil. Our European mountains offer a number of places such as the Oropa in Piedmont, the Gargano in Italy, the Austrian Maria Waldrast, the Ziteil of the Grison valley, the Grand Saint Bernard, the Mont Saint Odile or Notre Dame de la Salette in France…A book would be need to list them all.

As well as the sacred places, mountain temples and sanctuaries, the mountain itself is an attraction. Man has a deep and hidden sense which guides him towards the summits in search of the absolute. Any approach to the summit is an approach towards the heavens.

This need to resource oneself, notably if it desires a complete relationship with nature in its original state, can only increase in the coming century, because of the growing restraints of urban life. It would be useful for those in charge of planning and tourist management in mountain regions to bring their attention to this matter which concerns man's superior needs, so that they can create an offer to take in these new elements of growth.

Man's attitude towards nature depends upon his convictions. Firstly, how he situates himself in relation to it, then, what status and thus what significance he gives it. This is why I have to mention some of the ideologies that have been growing over the past few years. Very likely, at the beginning of the new century, these ideologies will blame certain aspects of the development concept. They will also strongly contest or oppose the theorists and decision makers of tourist planning. Amongst others, these ideologies bear similarities with the neo-finalist ethics of the German philosopher Hans Jonas and the radical ecology of the Norwegian Arne Naess. I will only describe some of the succinct traits which relate to our subject. For Jonas, modern science (in particular that of biological evolution) has deprived humanity of a large part of its pre-eminence by revealing its part in the evolution process. According to Jonas, this loss is only acceptable if at the same time it is accompanied by a gain in nature's dignity: namely that of nature possessing its own finality (4). Jonas calls for the respect of this finality and for the installation of full awareness of man's responsibility towards his descendants, "even if the obligation relative to man continues to have absolute value, this now includes nature as a condition of man's own survival and as complementary to man's own existential wholeness. We can go even further and say that the solidarity of destiny between man and nature, a solidarity which has recently been discovered as a result of danger, makes us also rediscover nature's autonomous dignity and demands that we respect its integrity above and beyond the aspect of use. It is hardly necessary to say that a sentimental interpretation of this demand is excluded by the law of life itself, which manifestly comprised in the integrity of life must be preserved from itself." (5).

Arne Naess is the inventor of a distinction between "superficial ecology", whose aim is to fight against the excessive exploitation of natural resources and pollution, whilst retaining an anthropocentric vision, and "deep or radical ecology" (6). This involves a philosophical reflection on ecological harmony and balance (7). This reflection can be seen to be partly similar to that of Jonas' with a common reference to an organicist vision of the world, affirming that all nature's organisms must be considered intrinsically related, revealing a egalitarian multi-polarity. Whence the affirmation that all beings have an equal right to life.

"Ecosophy" deals with, among other subjects, the distinction between superficial ecology and deep ecology. It may be said that ecosophy possesses a spiritual and even religious aspect (8) whose end result is an esoteric sacrilisation of nature. Consequently, to use a saying from one of the members of this school, the earth was not made for man, but man for the earth. Admittedly, deep ecology calls for a progression of spiritual growth and fulfilment, however it does this by lending naturewhat she does not have. John Seed advises us "to think like a mountain", here once again we come across a magical approach to nature which belonged to our ancestors.

Thus ecosophy and deep ecology have modified their ideology : that was based on man being at the centre of nature. Nature and all beings find themselves given the same rights as man.

For those adhering to these affirmations, new behaviour patterns in their relationship with nature and a questioning of the life styles of our societies are necessary.

Differing from ecosophy or from radical ecology, man retains his dominance within the sustainable development that I have discussed.

This dominance is translated as a full awareness of man's ultimate responsibility as protector and manager of all nature within his reach. It generates planning ethics and also aims to promote harmony between the safeguard of natural, non-renewable resources and growth for the benefit of the greatest number.

I have spoken about man's relationship with nature in general and of the traveller or the tourist in particular. I would now like to draw your attention to the planner of tourism. The planner, and consequently, the promoter and the entrepreneur, has a particular relationship with the environment and one which sometimes becomes a confrontation. He freely uses the profile of the slopes in winter, the beauty of the summits in all seasons and even the quality of the air or the characteristics of plant and animal life as basic elements of the tourist offer. However, the planner can debase these tourist offer elements to such an extent as to destroy all chance of success in economic and social growth.

Admittedly such planning will for a time result in new economic progress and the creation of jobs and we will then perhaps call it development.

In reality, this is not always the case. Particularly when the ecological cost is a result of land or property speculation whose effects are known and whose perspective is based only on the short or medium term. As a factor of the sustainable development concept, economy cannot be an end in itself. Whilst vital, it is only so as an instrument serving ecology and the social affairs. Here we can make a connection between the dilemma of "to be" and "to have". The major spiritual orders, religions and numerous philosophies develop this issue: "to have" can suffocate the "to be", because the happiness of humans cannot amount to the possession and consumption of material things, even if they relate to with tourism. This dilemma concerns individuals as well as social groups with a view to their own development. On a community level, decision makers, assisted by specialists when required, need, when making decisions, to enlighten their conscience so that their planning may generate true sustainable development. This enlightenment may result from ethics nourished by spirituality. Would it not be advisable to add the spiritual or ethical aspects to the three "ecological, economic and social" aspects of the sustainable development concept ? As a planner and president of a tourist resort, I would like to name the interconnected areas, where according to my experience, these crucial choices of conscience, have to be made, namely :

• continued expansion in terms of land and buildings,
• the installation of too many facilities on virgin areas,
• the true aim of planning : is it the implementation for a solely private profit or for the interest of the community ?
• the importance of effects upon the economic, social and cultural situations of communities and on the environment, etc.

Non-ethical planning and development is usually only the search for financial profit. Let us therefore try to promote integral development, which is the only sort which can be sustainable. By developing a tourist offer which is attractive, economical and respectful of natural resources, it is not only to the advantage of some of the players, but it also agrees with present day thinking. It has to directly effect those who work towards the success of development. For example, seasonal tourist workers are often forgotten in the sharing out of the benefits of development and their living conditions throughout Europe are not always up to standard.

In conclusion, it is obvious that the spirituality and ethics of sustainable development cannot replace legislation and rules for prevention and protection. A certain number of laws are already in force and others will come. However, as these laws are restrictive, they do not enable man to have a healthy relationship with nature. Man needs to be enlightened about the deep significance of this relationship ; his freedom needs educating through the intermediary of his conscience. This will enable him, whether he be planner or tourist, to master his behaviour and to respect the rules of a truly sustainable development. This is all the more important as prospective studies ask us to become aware of the social situations of the near future, namely :

In twenty-five years, the world's population will have considerably increased. In nearly all countries it will be concentrated with more than sixty-five percent in urban areas. This is a fact. This population will experience, if current day life styles continue, the stressful effects of overcrowding, of noise and agitation. We can therefore emit a double hypothesis, firstly that of a very great increase in tourist demand (particularly internal demand, as the O.M.T. study "Tourism horizon 2020" points out) and secondly of an explosion in the need for resourcing and for contact with nature. Now we know that this will pose a number of problems concerning the allocation of free time, of traffic circulation, of welcome facilities, of the protection of natural areas and the education of tourists. We also know that such foreseeable problems necessitate the implementation of answers a long time in advance. It is today's decision makers who are responsible for preparing the correct answers. They can do so using judicious choices, enlightened by true ethics. In other words, it is up to them to draw up a true integral development so that the requirements of future tourists can be satisfied, at the heart of a safeguarded nature, particularly in the world's high mountain areas.

Pierre Lainé

 

(1) étoiles et tempêtes éditions Arthaud 1954 back to text

(2) for example in : Prospective de la demande touristique à l'horizon 2010. Réinventer les vacances. La documentation Française. Paris, commissariat général au plan 1998. back to text

(3) étude prospective en gisements d'emplois générés par la mutation de la demande touristique. Paris, conseil national du tourisme français 1997. back to text

(4) The phenomenon of life. Toward a philosophical Biology - NewYork, Harper & Row, 1996. Similarly in le principe responsabilité. Une éthique pour la civilisation technologique. Paris, éd du cerf 1990. back to text

(5) Le principe responsabilité p 188 back to text

(6) The shallow and the Deep, Long-Range Ecology Mouvement. A summary. Inquiry XVI/1 1973. back to text

(7) See the book by Bill Devall and Georges sessions, Deep Ecology, Salt Lake City, peregrine books, 1985. back to text

(8) See the article by Jacques Arnoult : Gnose et écologie. Communio tome XXIV. back to text