Sunshine of your Love

This is a declaration. But it is a declaration that needs to be preceded by some thought.

I feel confident in saying that the world could benefit from everyone in it being more loving. If more people made their decisions based on love, rather than greed, ambition, anger, etc., I think the world at large would be greatly improved. So, in the interest of filling the world with a bit more of "the good stuff" (no, I don't mean Jim Beam) let us have a short discussion about the nature of love.

Love is perhaps the most universally admired attribute. It is a defining feature of many, if not all, of our literary heroes, and it is the keystone of all the major religions I could think of just now. Being so important, it must have some sort of definition. Webster defines love as many things, including strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties, the score of zero (tennis), and unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another. For my purposes, I am going to focus on definitions 2 and 3. Mostly 3.

Gordon B. Hinkley defined the love in a marriage relationship, as in Webster's third definition, as an anxious concern for the happiness and well being of another. Specifically, he said, "True love is not so much a matter of romance as it is a matter of anxious concern for the well-being of one's companion." I feel that this definition of love could be broadened and applied to the vastness of the human race. If we all thought more about how we could help our neighborino, rather than how we could make our yard look better than his.... As I think about this, I can't come up with an example of applying this principle to international relations, but I think it is more of the attitude and way of thinking that matters. People who have an external focus tend to make decisions that are the most beneficial to all involved parties. Love, I guess, is a kindness and unselfishness of action.

So, now that we have a rudimentary understanding of how I personally view love (incidentally, my ego believes that everyone should think this way) I can continue on to my declaration.

I am going to be more loving.

Yes, I am going to be more loving. I am going to think more about other people than myself. Or that's the plan anyway. But I am not going to simply say, "I love you" more often. I am actually going to be more loving. I am going to act. I am going to make time to listen, really listen, when people talk to me. I am going to continue to do all the little things I do around my house to keep in nice looking, because I love my roommates. I am going to act on all those thoughts I have. You know the ones. Like when you think, "I should get a flower for Sarah" or "I should write a letter to Grandma."

Hopefully, putting this in writing will put it in my head. And hopefully, I'll be able to have an effect on the world around me. And hopefully, I'll leave the world a little brighter.

Bouldering

I love to climb. I love it outside, I love it inside, I love it on rocks or plastic or concrete or pretty much anything with friction. But bouldering has a place all its own. Bouldering is unique in that it is both extremely powerful and physically demanding. And at the same time, it is one of the most creative activities I have ever pursued. A boulderer can stand in front of a giant chunk of rock and do anything he or she wants. He has the basic pieces given him in the structure of the rock, but she can do anything imaginable with those pieces.

Last week I took a trip to Joe's Valley for some bouldering, and I learned that bouldering is more than just climbing. It is an experience. Because bouldering requires only short bursts of your time, much of a bouldering trip is not even spent bouldering. It is spent skinny dipping in a river. It is spent sitting on top of the rock you conquered, just feeling cool. It is spent chatting with the wonderful people you made the trip with.

Procrasto-student

I have found that sometimes I really just don't want to study. Starting Monday....no, Teusday, I will begin to be the most studious person you know, excluding my room mates.

Something To Share

I just wanted to share this with you. This guy, is amazing, and he comes with an amazing band. Enjoy this.

Check this Video Out

Panther Martin

Sometimes, I feel like Life is a mid forties woman who has just become totally bored with her own life. To make up for her boredom, she comes up with creative ways to toy with those of us who can't alter the universe. I think she takes especial pleasure in toying with me. Not torturing. Toying. One of her favorite tricks is to present to me something new. Usually, this something is particularly wonderful, or has the potential to be so. Life dangles this new wonderful in front of me just long enough for me to get a taste of how fantastic it really is. Then (and here's the fun part) she drops down a sign next to this new bait informing me that I can't actually have this as part of my life. I don't know why she does this, but it happens on a fairly regular basis. And by regular basis, I mean I thought of it this morning and decided to write about it. It may or may not be regular. It has happened this month though, if that means anything.

First In Your Life

I have just had a truth confirmed to me:

Improving a relationship between two people is most effectively done by building your personal relationship with God. The qualities that develop from this relationship with deity will translate into a more loving, forgiving and serving relationship.

Its the thought that counts

I am not a beautiful an unique snowflake. Heck, I'm not even a snowflake. But what I am is an outdoorsman. I might even say that I am the most important kind of outdoorsman. I will never bag a first ascent of any massive boulder. I won't be the man who summits Everest or McKinely or even Timpanogos. But what I will do is keep the outdoor industry alive.

There are quite a number of us outdoorspeople who couldn't really be considered "hard-core". We don't really focus on any one sport and perfect it. We don't spend all of our time outside (forgive us. we have classes and other hobbies...like D&D?). But we do spend money. Every one of us spends lots of money on what we proudly call our favorite pastimes. They may not occupy the majority of our time, but they do fill the majority of our dreams.

We are the people who spend all winter in the gym and get ecstatic when we finally send an 11c. What? Its only in the gym? And its only a top rope? Big deal. It's a freaking 11c.

We are the people who have Fuji and Giant and Trek bicycles locked away in our garages. These bikes of ours love the summer. After all, its the only time they see the sun. We certainly aren't going to be riding bikes in cold weather. That's just silly.

We are the people with posters of Chris Sharma, Greg Minnaar, Lance Armstrong, and John Muir (he has posters?) hanging on our walls. These are our heroes. We revere them and their dedication to outdoor pursuits. We would never want to be them, but we sure would like to imagine what it would be like.

We are the people who have tents, stoves, camp chairs, water filters, tarps, bike racks, climbing ropes, carburetor cleaner, backpacks, hydration bladders, hiking boots, and all the rest of the plethora of gear one can use outdoors.

Its not that we don't want to spend more time outside. Its just that in addition to climbing or biking, we have other things to value. We value higher education. We value family. We value a well rounded existence. So we spend what time we can engaged in the outdoor pastimes we so deeply enjoy. And we have fallen into a sort of symbiotic relationship with the more dedicated pursuers of our passions. We watch videos of nine-fingered Tommy Caldwell sending the most absurd lines on El Cap. Or we watch Tyler Klassen bomb down mountains with seeming disregard for gravity. And these movies makes us happy. They fill us with anticipation for our next adventure. Admittedly, my "El Cap" is called Black Rose. But still...I am willing to pay money to support the professionals so that they can live the life I can't justify living.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that even though we will never be that good at whatever it is we're doing, that's okay. Its okay to climb your entire life and never even look at a 12c. Its okay to never bike of anything higher than 18 inches. Its okay because we still love it. We get the same excitement on our 10c ascent that pros get on their 14d. And you know what the best part is? Anyone, at any skill level, can get excited when someone breaks a new personal record. I get just as excited for Sharma to bag another 15b as he would get to help me climb a 11a. If you ask me, this is the real reason we love these sports. Sure, its great to be outside, pushing our bodies to their respective limits. But what really makes it so wonderful is the community. Everyone rooting for everyone else. So lets try to remember, next time a spraylord is regaling you with tales of his many FA's, that most of us are really cool. Most of us don't care how good you are, as long as you are pushing youself. And that's what makes us awesome.