In my time here, I've found one of life's great challenges is to remain vigilant, motivated, inspired, and driven. I often think back to my days as a Boy Scout, as it was a time of great discovery, where I forged lasting friendships, and had the good fortune of spending time in some of the world's most beautiful and unique environments. On one particular adventure, I was able to raft the Colorado River from its' confluence with the Green, down many miles to one of Utah's most incredible playgrounds - Lake Powell. I remember learning about John Wesley Powell for whom the reservoir was named. A civil war soldier turned explorer, who was charged with navigating the very river I was floating. But instead of enjoying modern conveniences, sophisticated rafts and safety equipment, he relied on help from Native Americans and primitive mapping devices to navigate his way through very dangerous territory using heavy, wooden boats. I remember lying under the stars wishing I were him. Or that I could transport myself back in time to join his crew as they charted unknown territories and found new adventure around every corner.
I've never forgotten the experiences of my youth. Many spent with my father, some with friends, and others spent alone, in silence, or in conversation with God, or what I knew him to be. I built a sort of character that had nothing to do with the modern world. I grew to value the things that man can't replicate with a tree-shaped car freshener - the smell of a mountain pine in the morning. The sights and sounds of a planet that is oddly organized, and which operates largely, if not entirely without human interaction. I still marvel at this.
As I've grown older, I have left my home. I've explored unfamiliar, and often uncomfortable territory. The physical landscapes have changed dramatically, as I traded lofty mountains for humid swamps and sunny beaches, then to historically rich cities, and industry-rich harbors. Like most of my peers, my life is now filled with time constraints, commitments, automobiles, insurance policies, bank accounts, loans, a bombardment of visual and emotional stimuli, smart-phones, and the like. There seems to be no end to the obstacles.
But however intrinsically different, I have found that I am he that navigated the dangerous waters of the Colorado, and these obstacles are my rapids, my obstructions in the river of my life. No two rivers are the same, and just because others have gone before me, none have done it today, and none tomorrow. When I lie in bed at night, I still wish as I did when I was young, to have been one of the first to explore the Great West, to brave the elements, and endure seemingly insurmountable physical tribulations....But it is not my lot, and I'm not sure it ever will be. I am here, now. And I will be vigilant and driven; seeking inspiration 'til the end of my days - all of which are sometimes so unnatural in this modern, man-made, fabricated landscape.
The oft-cited T.S. Eliot quote reads "We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time."
I know I'll return home someday....hopefully soon. And I know I'll find that curious young man again, with his eyes peering upward in wonderment, and in a strange way, I will know him, and that place for the first time.
I've never forgotten the experiences of my youth. Many spent with my father, some with friends, and others spent alone, in silence, or in conversation with God, or what I knew him to be. I built a sort of character that had nothing to do with the modern world. I grew to value the things that man can't replicate with a tree-shaped car freshener - the smell of a mountain pine in the morning. The sights and sounds of a planet that is oddly organized, and which operates largely, if not entirely without human interaction. I still marvel at this.
As I've grown older, I have left my home. I've explored unfamiliar, and often uncomfortable territory. The physical landscapes have changed dramatically, as I traded lofty mountains for humid swamps and sunny beaches, then to historically rich cities, and industry-rich harbors. Like most of my peers, my life is now filled with time constraints, commitments, automobiles, insurance policies, bank accounts, loans, a bombardment of visual and emotional stimuli, smart-phones, and the like. There seems to be no end to the obstacles.
But however intrinsically different, I have found that I am he that navigated the dangerous waters of the Colorado, and these obstacles are my rapids, my obstructions in the river of my life. No two rivers are the same, and just because others have gone before me, none have done it today, and none tomorrow. When I lie in bed at night, I still wish as I did when I was young, to have been one of the first to explore the Great West, to brave the elements, and endure seemingly insurmountable physical tribulations....But it is not my lot, and I'm not sure it ever will be. I am here, now. And I will be vigilant and driven; seeking inspiration 'til the end of my days - all of which are sometimes so unnatural in this modern, man-made, fabricated landscape.
The oft-cited T.S. Eliot quote reads "We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time."
I know I'll return home someday....hopefully soon. And I know I'll find that curious young man again, with his eyes peering upward in wonderment, and in a strange way, I will know him, and that place for the first time.
