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.

Water

I deeply love the feeling of taking a huge drink of water and feeling the cool liquid send a wave of refreshment through my body.

Let us All be Creators!

I think inside of everyone
Is a poem waiting patiently.
It may not be a work of art,
But it should express sufficiently
The thoughts and feelings of the one
Who wrote the bloody thing.

In fact, it may not be a poem,
But rather it could be a film.
Perhaps the one in question here
Loves cooking clay inside a kiln.
And from the fire beauty comes;
It is beautiful to him.

The message that I'd like to share
Through these quickly written words,
Is a message of encouraging
To those with inclinations towards
Creating things where nothing was,
But maybe think they're bored.

Get up! Get doing! Get it done!
I say you ought at least to try.
Though you may not have a gift,
You've probably got more than I.
And if you haven't, nothing lost,
Just go ahead and lie.

We'll all pretend it went okay
And you're a great artist.
The benefit's not in the art
(I think you get the gist.)
It's in the time you spent to try,
The time you haven't missed.

Waiting Nonethe

I would like to restate the old adage that good things come to those who wait. It may not be what you were waiting for, but I should be pretty good, nonetheless.

So Clearly Muddled

There are choices in life that make you happy and choices that don't. We all know this. We all wonder why we can't make more of the happy ones. I think I have found the answer. Its because nobody wants to sacrifice. Making the right choice, the one that will make us happy, always involves some sort of sacrifice. Perhaps you don't see it, but you always give something up when you make a choice. When you choose to go to bed early, you are sacrificing all that happens late at night. When you choose not to drink, you are sacrificing the experience of being drunk. You get the idea....

Many people find themselves at a point in life that they don't like, and they have no idea how they got there. Sometimes, these people turn everything around and become happy people. But, as we all know, more often than not they turn to the easy path. Some sacrifices are easier than others. In some cases, all it takes to make the sacrifice is to do nothing. This path of choice is called the easy road. It is easy to take no action. But this will never bring happiness.

There is no way to discuss this without bringing religion into it. If a person is trying to improve, he or she must make sacrifices of action. He cannot choose inaction and expect to see results. And in order to take action one must choose to sacrifice a negative aspect of his life and replace it with something better. In my own life, I had to choose to give up metal. I sacrificed all the perceived happiness I got from metal for the sake of a better life. I say perceived happiness because it is just that: perceived. It is not a true happiness, but a substitute. Now, you may be inclined to argue with me. I do not want to argue. I would simply ask you to look honestly into your heart and tell me if this behavior, be it metal or marijuana, actually brings you happiness. More often than not it is simply a distraction. A distraction from life and the things about it that displease you. It seems like happiness because it keeps you from focusing on the negative of your life, but it fades quickly, leaving you where you began.

But all this ranting gets no one anywhere good. All it does is start arguments. Instead, let me pose a question: What can I do, to help people see this? What can I do to help people make sacrifices? That's really the question I am asking with all this psycho-babble. How can I make a difference? Honestly, I don't know. The best I can figure is to just continue to love, regardless of people's choices.

In The Eye Of The Beholder

We look at life through lenses. Each lens is crafted of certain beliefs, ideas, experiences....they can be formed from anything. For many years of my life I used the lens of cynicism. Looking at life through this lens, I found myself becoming hateful and aggressive. Luckily I realized that wasn't the best way to go through life, so I changed to the lens of Taoism. Accepting things as they came, and experiencing life without fighting it, I certainly did not find myself so hateful. Neither did I find myself completely fulfilled. So, for a while I tried the lens of realism. Its a lot like the cynical lens, but without all the pessimism.

I am going to stop rambling now and get to my point. I realized the other day why I see people differently than many of my friends. I have found that when I look at people, or when I think about them, I imagine them not so much as they are, but as they would be if they were totally committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am not deluding myself into thinking these people are different than reality. I am simply trying very hard to see their potential. To see their best qualities, rather than noticing the negative. Seeing people in this light, or looking through this lens, it becomes very easy to love people. Forgiveness comes easier. Kindness is instinctive. Criticism is more sincere and less hurtful. Now, I don't mean to say that I am a perfect person, or that this is how I always see people. Or course not. I am imperfect. But more and more I find my efforts to reach perfection encourage this view more and more frequently. And I find it improves my life.

Following the Leader

Hmmmnnmmm.....So, I was tagged in one of those notes where you are supposed to write one of your own if you were tagged, and then tag other people. I usually ignore those, except that this one wasn't dull and stupid like so many of them are. So, I am going to let my mind wander and see what comes out. (Disclaimer: I have to edit my thoughts, or else I get myself into some pretty sticky situations. So, this won't be pure free-flow writing.)

100 things I like, Or, Gibberish from my Grey Matter:

Rock climbing, the pain in my shoulder that I know is from pushing my body too hard, waking up before 8 in the morning, going to bed before 11 at night, my little army of medieval knights, orange juice (I think I have a problem), the twice a year successful date, the early stages of infatuation before I decide I am infatuated, being prepared for my classes, anything Ramen based, Jason Burr, Abbie Burr, friends who make an effort, not being the only person who ever tries to maintain friendships, Collective Soul, the wire guitar on my desk from Kara, not wearing pants (not wearing pants now!!), realizing I don't need to eat sugar to stay alive, good photography, people who follow through on anything (this almost never happens), performing live music, writing music, singing or playing music with other people even if they aren't any good, pretending that some day I'll actually get married, babies and children, adding the word uterus to any sentence just to make it funnier, Cream of Wheat with brown sugar in it, orange juice, leaving my blood on the slab, having the cojones to ride my bike over the nasty bits of the trail, skinny dipping or just being naked outdoors.......that should be pretty good. Enjoy that. I sort of enjoyed writing it.