Something To Think About and Journal Notes

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

        To have something you love, and devote your life to it; that is the most wonderful gift of all.

                                                                                                  Roger Green, May, 2008

 

          I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.

                                                                                                   Henry David Thoreau, Walden

 

JOURNAL NOTES

     I devote this month’s writing to Andrew, The Desert Drifter.  Those of us that love and live the outdoor life are familiar with him.  Those that do not, he was a YouTuber that dedicated his time to the exploration of the desert and the peoples that have lived there and tried to bring knowledge of their culture.  Andrew was involved in a car accident wherein he incurred terrible brain injury.  I just read that his family made the decision to remove him from life support on March 3.  He died March 4 around 10:00 a.m.  Andrew was 34 years old and my heart is heavy for his wife, Evelyn, and his family who must endure this unexpected loss.  This is truly tragedy.

      On another note though, I want everyone to remember how he lived his life.  If you watch Andrew’s videos, you will see that he passionately pursued his love of the outdoors and spent his time there every opportunity he had.  This is a life lesson for all people.  Whatever one’s passion may be, pursue it with every energy and opportunity you possess.  Too many times it is easy to be overcome with the necessity of making money and displaying what a success we are at doing so.  With this is the opportunity to miss what is really important in life, living it.  It will not suffice to plan what can be done in retirement.  Retirement may not come.  I say this through experience.  While I have lived a long time, my brother also died in a car accident at the age of 18.  He only had the opportunity to get through high school.  Andrew’s accident occurred on January 31, my brother’s birthdate.  Even this morning my husband read the words of Steve Jobs as he reflected on what is truly important in life, which I have added to the bottom of this writing.  I implore all of us to reexamine our lives and start living.

     I think of all the desert adventures my husband and I have had and I have written about them before, but I want to share them again in this writing; perhaps because they mean so much to me:    

     It rained gently yesterday and the clouds were hanging on the Bookcliffs heavily.  Never have I lived in a place with such overwhelming clouds.  I am anxious to begin our summer adventures.  It is so fulfilling to feel the sun on my body as I climb across the sandstone rocks and wait for the sound of the canyon crows, so intelligent, so ancient.  I find it interesting that so many fear the crow and the raven.  Perhaps they have something to hide.  Some believe the raven embodies them essence of a god; I think they should be afraid because the eye of the raven will lay bear any evil within the heart.

     The quotes included are two of my favorites; one by my husband, Roger, and one by Thoreau.  Roger has written longer quotes before, but this one is so concise and so important.  

     Andrew obviously devoted his life to something he loved as Roger stated.  And as Thoreau said, when he came to die, he did not have to discover that he had not lived.  I read that Andrew was on his way home from Bears Ears.  He was living his best life, not counting money in his bank book or playing board games at the local bookstore.  

     This is a wake-up call for me.  Let it be for you too.

Steve Jobs - Five Undeniable Facts of Life:

     1.  Don’t educate your children to be rich.  Educate them to be happy so that when they grow up, they will know the value of things, not the price.  We all must remind those we lead, those we raise that happiness is the key to being successful.  Doing what we love creates passion, focus and resiliency.  

     2.  Eat your food as your medicines.  Otherwise, you have to eat medicines as your food.  Humans have a great ability to heal themselves with the proper diet.  Be careful what we use as our fuel.  

     3.  The one who loves you will never leave your for another because even if there are a 100 reasons to give up, he or she will find one reason to hold on.  You learn in life that it’s never the number of friends who matter, only the quality of those relationships.

     4.  There is a big difference between a human being and being human.  Only a few really understand it.  Being human requires having compassion, empathy and honesty.  Those are not hard traits for us to practice each day.  

     5.  You are loved when you are born.  You will be loved when you die.  In between, you have to manage.