The Inspiration to Breathe
No Words, no Expectations, no Strings, JUST BE!
As the years pass and I settle into this season of life at sixty one, I often catch myself wondering what new adventure I can throw myself into. Anyone who truly knows me will tell you the same thing. I have a restless soul, and the remedy for that has always been simple. Get outdoors. That instinct has been with me from the beginning. From building forts in the backwoods as a kid by cold running creeks, to surfing the warm beaches of southern California, to packing horses deep into the Colorado high country, the world has never stopped calling my name. I grew up believing life itself is one long adventure waiting to be lived. Some say it is why my glass always seems half full. And honestly, how can anyone stand in the middle of a million acres of wild and untouched country at fourteen thousand feet and not be filled with nothing but gratitude.
The truth is, it has never really been about the horses, or the mountain bikes, or the kayaks, or even a backpack and a pair of boots. The real beauty is the trail itself. It is the steady rhythm of moving forward one step at a time. One pedal stroke, one paddle pull, one moment of breathing in the quiet air between trees or along a shoreline. The trail is where you find the deeper parts of yourself. Your heart. Your strength. Your soul. The destination is just the excuse to go. The journey is where the magic lives.
Somewhere along the way I heard someone say, You must give everything to make your life as beautiful as the dreams that dance in your imagination. That line stayed with me. Over the past sixty years I have learned exactly what it means. Life becomes beautiful when we unlock the parts of our spirit that the world tries to tie down. When we step away from noise and routine and allow ourselves to chase the mystery that waits around the next bend.
But something always seems to get in the way.
I have not given Arkansas the justice it deserves. I spent almost two decades in Colorado riding into wilderness areas on horses for days or weeks at a time, yet here, in this new chapter of my life, I have barely wandered past my own surroundings. I can give you a long list of reasons why, but they sound a lot like the reasons we all tell ourselves.
- I am not experienced enough.
- I do not have the right gear.
- I am too old.
Blah blah blah. The truth is, none of that matters anymore. I am done letting excuses keep me from discovering what waits beyond the next ridge or across the next quiet lake. It is time to find out for myself.
Life today is jammed with technology. As I write this, I am surrounded by a desktop computer, a laptop, a smartphone, a tablet, and a smartwatch, all chiming and buzzing to remind me of appointments, email, messages, and feeds. We live among constant sound and motion. Concrete. Sirens. Angry traffic. Screens and scrolling. Instant food. Instant noise. Instant everything. It is no wonder the simple beauty of life slips by unnoticed. The scent of rain on pine. The sound of wind through grass. The color of a sunrise that no camera will ever truly capture.
The funny part is that the peace we crave is not far away. It is right outside the door. All it takes is a choice. A step. A willingness to reclaim the part of ourselves that quiet places restore.
And you owe it to yourself to find your way back into the great outdoor.
