The first time I went into a cave, I was with a relatively inexperienced person—a spelunker—who enjoyed the exploration of caves. With time, I accompanied men and women with more experience—cavers—who took more advanced equipment for illumination, climbing, rappelling, and more.
Eventually, I descended into the bowels of the earth with a true speleologist, someone dedicated to the exploration of caves in a more scientific way, using maps, reports, drawings, photos, and an understanding of geology, hydrology, climatology, and survey techniques.
With the expert, I traveled deeper by the minute, descending into what appeared to be bottomless pits, and traversing narrow passages, swimming underground rivers, and marveling at crystal clear lakes that had been witnessed by only a handful of human beings.
My companion carried a paper map which rendered—as well as possible—the three dimensions of the cave, without which he said reaching the surface again would probably have been impossible. Such maps can now be computer generated and viewed from all angles, making them truly three dimensional.
The innumerable colored lines of the map made no sense to me whatever, but they also saved our lives repeatedly.
Life is often like descending into a cave, where we can explore cliffs, narrow passages, great caverns, lakes, rivers, vertical holes, and more.
Without a map and proper illumination, we soon lose our way, and eventually we lose our lives in the confusion and the darkness. But with a guide and proper maps—with Real Love and the wise men and women who understand it—life becomes exciting, character-building, ennobling, and enormously fun.
Find a map, find a guide, and have fun.
