Examing Life’s Lessons

How many of you just wanted to take off, to leave everything behind, to jettison all the physical baggage and live by the seat of your pants? There is an attractiveness to starting over, to not have the constant pull of household issues, teenager drama, responsibilities to pets, and family members around you.
 
I once took advantage of an opportunity to live out of a duffle bag and call a 2 man pup tent my home for 8 weeks in a different country. The group took in all their own food except perishables like eggs and milk for the trip. It amazed me on how little it took to live. However, it took a whole bunch of patience and endurance, especially the nights where I woke up in pools of of my own sweat. Yet, I will never forget the day I came back to the States and walked into my mom’s house, my house.
 
I had walked through that door many times during the 20 years of being around that house. My grandpa built the house when I was 3. Going to grandma and grandpa’s meant staying at that house. When they moved out, we moved in during my high school years. Yet, on this day I had spent the previous 2 months living very differently. I had washed my clothes in a bucket that fit nicely in a duffel bag along with everything else I carried.
 
As I opened the door, I literally stopped after a few steps inside the doorway. The sight that met my eyes overwhelmed me. The knickknacks along the walls jumbled together as my brain tried to sort things out. It was the same house yet different at the same time. That day showed me how “things” slowly creep into your life. How “things” are not as necessary to live this life as you might think.
 
Thinking about this time and about just jettisoning “things” was prompted by my wife renting a DVD titled “Into the Wild”. If you enjoy watching movies based on real life that are brutal in their simplicity and touch your life, then stop reading now. You need to watch the movie without any preconceived views. I watched it not knowing it was based on actual events. Yes, sometimes I think I live in a cave.
 
Anyway, stop reading now if you want to enjoy the movie without spoilers.
 
Before I talk about the move, I want to say this; I want to say how impressed I am with his family in allowing this movie to be produced. It takes gut deep courage to put your life on the big screen. That courage is especially impressive when parts of it do not reflect positively on yourself. In no way do I intend to twist the figurative knife into Christopher’s parent’s actions in the following text. I want to state loudly and clearly that I consider them courageous and generous. I thank them deeply for allowing Christopher’s story and theirs be told.
 
Where do you go to find yourself? What do you do when you can no longer trust the things that has been the foundation of your life? How do you deal with pain so intense that it feels like your heart will explode?
 
I think Christopher found himself in this situation. He found all that he thought to be true, was not. His parents, in their effort to protect their children from their past indiscretions, only sowed seeds that would later bear ill fruit. Christopher and all children need the truth from the parents. Now, don’t confuse truth with details. Details are rarely necessary in my experience. Saying yes to the question that you are angry at your spouse is appropriate. Sharing the details of what you are angry about or what was said in private is usually not appropriate.
 
Christopher planned to just get away, to adventure off where he could truly be alone with himself. No authority of parents, no more reminders of pain or reminders of the lies told. No more having to deal with the association of “things” that came at the price of lies. He takes off from West Virginia, loses his car to a flash flood in the West and then walks/boats/hitchhikes his way to Alaska over a 2 year period.
 
In his effort to not be ruled by maps and expectations, he leaves the safety net of civilization when he reaches Alaska. As I watched his story told via this movie, I see how being footloose is not that dangerous from a survival standpoint when he is in the lower 48. There are many places to get clean water, there are means to get food that you don’t have to worry about eating.
 
However, having that same mindset in lack of planning when he arrived in Alaska was his undoing. There was no safety net for him when he made a mistake. He did not have a good understanding of his surrounding. He paid for it with his life. Tragically, it happened just when he found his emotional footing and found the essence of happiness.
 
How many of us realize the number of bridges we cross while driving? Count the number of bridges during one of your trips. Then imagine walking that trip with those bridges not existing. Imagine having to ford across the stream or river on foot. I don’t think we appreciate how trivial bridges have made traveling. When a stream or river floods, most bridges are able to handle it and we drive on. Only when it is really bad once every 50 or 100 years do we appreciate what bridges have given us.
 
There is so much from this movie that has caused me to look at what I take for granted. However, I am going to leave you with this, who has helped you get where you are today? What bridges, people, have eased your journey so much that you now realize you have taken them for granted? Do you need to call them up right now and thank them for just being there, for showing you that someone cared enough to get in your face and give their opinion?
 
From what I saw in the movie, Christopher learned at the end, happiness is found in the sharing of life’s experiences with others.
 
What are some ways that you have shared your life with others?