I'm reading a book, and it's got me thinking.
Into the Wild, by Krakauer.
It's about a young man in the early 1990s whose lofty ideals drove him to shed the life he knew, and everything comfortable in it, opting instead for a nomadic existence. Things didn't matter to him - he donated his bank account to charity, and burned the cash in his wallet. People mattered to him. Connections mattered to him. Perhaps most of all, experiences mattered to him.
He took many of his ideals to reckless lengths and treacherous places, eventually succumbing - utterly alone - to a harsh Alaskan winter. Many have called him a fool for casting aside the comforts of society, and said he had a death wish all along. I'm not sure about that, and neither is Krakauer - but some of his writings and his ideas send a shiver through me, offering a few splashes of water to one of the thirstiest and most unexplored places in my soul. The canyons in southern Utah, with their ancient Anasazi ruins and their spires and arches of sandstone, evoked the same feeling.
It might best be summed up in the words of the boy himself:
"So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun."
-christopher mccandless, april 1992
Those words resonated in me. And those, among others in the book (and some events which have occurred recently in my own life), have got me thinking. Thinking about life, and love, about new experiences and what really matters, about my friends and family. I quickly realized I have a lot to say. Not in any particular order, and not necessarily enlightening - but I've had many conversations with great friends about fascinating topics, and I want to remember them and share them. Hence the blog.
I'll post about stories, and how we don't tell nearly enough of them. I'll post about religion, about friendship, trust and loyalty, about our senses of wonder and - as McCandless says - our adventurous spirits. It's likely to be somewhat existential, with all sorts of questions that have no real answers.
Maybe I'll be able to glean some insight simply by asking.
