Life Lesson: Be Thankful

As we approach Thanksgiving, I'm reminded of two things.  One: be thankful for what you have. And two: never forget to say it.  Here's what I'm thankful for everyday:

My Parents: From the very beginning my parents have fostered my adventurous spirit.  The took my sister and I on camping trips to exotic places, taught us about appreciating our natural world, gave us the opportunities to explore. I'm 28 and I still eager to spend time with them.  Every year we plan an epic trip and knowing that we still get to have adventures makes me grateful that I have a wonderful relationship with my parents.

My Sister: My best friend and partner in crime. But we weren't without our sisterly conflicts!  The end of the day, she's always been there for me. The Tia to my Tamara.  The Emily to my Zoey.  The Ramona to my Beezus.  The Elizabeth to my Jane.  The Nester to my Fossey.

My Family:  I've mentioned my parents and my sister, but the truth is I'm thankful that we're such a tight-knit family.  We've done everything together and we still do.  We're close.  And close is an understatement.  We're a unit and we always will be.

My Husband: We learn from an early age that we're supposed to search the world for that one who can complete us in every way.  And in a world filled with 7 billion people it seems like a daunting task.  So when you find that person a mere twenty miles from your own house, it's a wonderful feeling.  My husband and I are two completely different people.  But for some crazy reason, we work.  While not complete opposites, it's the ways we're different that attracted us to each other.  And the ways we're similar are the reasons we fell in love.  He's my better half and I'm his.  Perfection.

My Friends:  Who is the first to answer the call to take on a new adventure?  Who can you call at all hours to talk?  Who's loves you regardless?  Who's the one helping you dig a car out of the snow five miles down a Forest Service road? Who's the one sitting in a diner soaking wet after being drenched by a truck at the May Fair?  Who's the one jumping into freezing cold alpine lakes with you?  Who's the one sitting next to you downing Malibu buckets gossiping about boys?  Who are the one's who fly across the country to be at your wedding? Who are the ones standing by my side as I say my wedding vows?  My friends.  And they're the best.

Myself:  This might sound egotistical, but you have to be thankful for your own abilities and your own life too.  My passions take me to grand places and to do amazing things.  I dream big and I love that about myself.  So I'm thankful that I'm physically capable to do the things I love to do and mentally competent to pursue my dreams.

The Natural World: The beauty of our world never ceases to amaze me.  I go to a new place and I'm near tears at the world and all it has to offer.  I find that this year, the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, I am thankful that history has given us one of the smartest decisions. I hope that our future generations continue the legacy of providing us places where we can explore and enrich our lives with amazing experiences.  So here's to our world and the next adventure.

With every Thanksgiving we're reminded that we have so many things to be thankful and appreciate.  But the real sadness is that we tend to wait until this one day to communicate why we are truly thankful.  I tell my husband everyday that I love him.  Every time I speak to my friends and family, I do the same.  The true advice: Don't wait to tell the people you love just that.  And don't wait until you have money and time to create memories.

Life Lesson: Alone

I was recently asked if I like being alone.  In context, I'd been doing a lot of activities lately solely by myself.  I slackline in the park after work, I go on day hikes, and I occasionally do an overnight in the wilderness or a far off campground.  The main reason I do this activities alone, is because I have no one else to do them with.  My husband is in school as are my friends.  My other friends either live in Pennsylvania, Seattle, or are currently thru hiking the PCT.  The companion resources are thin.  The question was asked by someone who knows all of these facts (my father).

But the answer to his question was "sometimes."  I sometimes like to be alone. I love the camaraderie of having a partner to hike with, to climb with, to camp with.  I love laughing at the end of the day, as we recount all the shenanigans we got into and the mistakes we made, the vistas we attained and the memories that were had.  There are somethings that I'm probably too scared to do by myself, but with a friend, I wouldn't be nearly as afraid (or at least wouldn't chicken out too easily).

But sometimes I love being alone.  I never have to worry about anyone's agenda but my own.  I never have to worry about someone's ability level exceeding my own.  I don't have to worry about saying or doing anything stupid.  And I can enjoy everything at my own leisure.  I can stay on a soft patch of pine needles for an hour just listening to a creek gurgle by.  I don't have to rush back to the trail-head for any reason.  I don't have to answer the questions of why I want to shoot a walk-by scene from three different angles and focuses.  But most of all, I can be quiet and contemplate my thoughts without the consideration of anything but me.  It's my selfish time.  The time 100% devoted to me.

If you've never had the opportunity to get into the backcountry or just your backyard trail to sit in the cool breeze among the chirping treetops and think about your life, you truly are missing out.  Those are the moments when I get to figure out my priorities and organize my goals in life.  Those are the moments I figure out who I really am and what makes me happy.  Whether its the summit of your local peak or the soft bouncy pine trail through a lush forest, these places are special to us in more ways than we can imagine.  You just have to get out there and figure out what they are.

Life Lesson: Never Get 'Old'

Everyone has thought about never getting old at least once in their life.  The thought is romantic, but unrealistic.  Instead we should think about all the amazing memories we've acquired over the years and commit to never accepting our own mental or physical defeat.  A 27-year old says their getting too old for a simple activity.  Has our society really become that lazy? The old saying goes, "You're only as old as you feel."  But in reality it should really be, "You're only as old as you let yourself believe."

One California man has decided not to let age and naysayers keep him from doing what he loves: hiking.  At 85, Don Viejo (trail name), has sent out a new kind of personal ad.

Not only is the ad extremely cute, but his poem is creative and hits home to a lot of us.  His message speaks volumes to his character.  Never give up, no matter how slow.  Our bodies might be older, but our hearts are forever young.

Life Lessons: Laugh

“Laughter is the sound of the soul dancing. My soul probably looks like Fred Astaire.”     ~ Jarod Kintz
“If you wish to glimpse inside a human soul and get to know a man, don't bother analyzing his ways of being silent, of talking, of weeping, of seeing how much he is moved by noble ideas; you will get better results if you just watch him laugh. If he laughs well, he's a good man.”     ~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky
“I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints.”     ~ Billy Joel
“The human race has only one really effective weapon and that is laughter.”     ~ Mark Twain

They all have it right: Mark Twain especially.  This world would be a much better place if we all took the time to laugh.  To forget our worries and forget our greedy ambitions and realize that we all laugh and cry and bleed, and that is our common denominator.  Those are our unifying factors.  These are the things that need to bring us together and we need to forget what divides us.

So start each day with a laugh, end it with a giggle, and make at least one person roar everyday until their sides split and their faces hurt from smiling.  If every person awoke with this resolve, the world's problems could be solved.

Laugh.

Life Lessons: Make Memories

You know the age old saying, "Take only pictures, leave only footprints"?  Well, I realized today, when someone asked me about my favorite adventure, it's not the photos that I remember.  It's not the images that I've printed or posted to Facebook.  It's not the albums I've made or the pictures I framed.  It's the memories that I remember the most.  It's the moments that took my breath away, the ones that made me feel invincible.  The smell of pine and the wind blowing against my skin.  Those are the things that can't be captured in photographs.  But it's what we take away inside us that really makes it memorable.  And no one else is able to feel what we do.  It's a personal and intimate experience.  And some moments aren't for sharing.  They're for our own telling; a way to keep the experience alive.  Because no one else is ever going to feel the exact same way you do.  And that's why those moments and those feelings and those memories are so special.  It's because they're unique.

So venture outside and create those moments that you will hold inside of you forever.  Remember the way they made you feel and you will always carry with you a gift of a moment that can never be replaced or repeated.

Life Lessons: Use 'Epic' as a Verb

I just got done re-reading an article Backpacker Magazine published about the Lake Tahoe Rim Trail.  It's 165-mile circumnavigation of the second deepest lake in the US.  The author starts the article this way:

My younger brother Robert is the kind of person who uses epic as a verb. Bare-chested and howling atop a 10,000-foot peak, cigarette in hand, flask at his lips, wearing what appears to be one of those undersized swimsuits favored by European men, he'll say, "We just epiced that mountain, bro!" And I'll pant, "Yes, brother, we did."

This got me thinking about the word 'epic'.  Webster defines the word as "extending beyond the usual or ordinary especially in size or scope".  I guess that's true...  An epic stands beyond the normalcy of life and encourages the extraordinary.  But it's so much more than just something abnormally large.  As the author's brother is able to understand it, it's a way of thinking and consequently, a way of doing.  When you conquer something new, you should bask in the glory of your accomplishment.  You gave all of your effort and then some and now you have your excitement and pride to show for it.  As long as we have the desire to conquer amazing things, we can surely do them epically.  SO next time you get that promotion, climb a new peak, finish a 5K, or bike up that crazy hill.  Stand on top of your imaginary podium, pump your fists in the air, and say, "I just epiced that!"