Thursday, July 16, 2015

Perspective.... Big... Small... and the End of the Road.....

“May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view.” 
― Edward Abbey

As Cat Stevens, Yusuf Islam, or Steven Demetre Georgiu (all the same person, should have just stuck with a symbol like Prince) once said, "Baby baby its a wild world." This past week has done an exceptional job of showing that our 3 named song spindlier could not have been more dead on.

Over a week ago I lost my Aunt and Uncle in a tragic car accident causing me to reflect a bit on my life. Looking at "things" and decisions from the standpoint of mortality is an interesting path to tread. With this in mind, a good friend and one who Justifies the F Word to the fullest took me up flying. Once you are up in the air, everything below seams fairly insignificant compared to the overall view of the horizon.

Life is the same way. Some issues that seem Kilimanjaro big are actually quite small once we step away and add a little perspective. How much time do we flush down the toilet stressing about things that we have no control over or worrying about the next latest and greatest? How much meaningful time with the ones we love or quality conversations do we loose being tethered to our electronics? I have been caught in this bear trap before and had to bite my leg off to get out.  How many quality moments are lost, because we know the ones who love us the most will be the quickest to forgive? At the end of the day when the lights go out, all that is left of our lives are the memories and the impressions we left on others. I promise you we wont be packing a suitcase of our prized possessions. With that being said, I am pretty sure why wife will try to pack an over-sized suitcase full of her Lululemon garb.

Lets all gain some altitude this week and find significance in the view of those around us and the life we have. My Cousin at my Aunt and Uncle's funeral shared one of my favorite Edward Abby manifestos and I would like to share it with you (enjoy).

“One final paragraph of advice: do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am - a reluctant enthusiast....a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it’s still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much; I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk-bound men and women with their hearts in a safe deposit box, and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this; You will outlive the bastards.” 
― Edward Abbey

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