Walking Dead

We are always in danger, each of us. Of course, there are common, everyday causes of injury and death, like car accidents, robberies, birth and cancer. These are a roll of the dice and every life's hazard.

There are greater dangers that we each face, the dangers of cowardice, fear, pride... We each face these internal dangers quietly. We rarely put up a fight against them because it feel like we're fighting against ourselves. It makes us feel terrible. This is the battle. These dangers are relevant. We must learn to beat them everyday, or we will certainly become walking dead people, and our car-crash deaths won't matter.

The following lyrics inspired my comments.

 Dustin Kensrue

CONSIDER THE RAVENS

Well I've got bills to pay
And taxmen on my tail
I just keep praying
That the check's in the mail
And there are times
It seems that everything's lost
When I'm blown and I'm tossed,
But then I see

Between the river and the ravens I'm fed
Between oblivion and blazes I'm led
So father give me faith,
In providence and grace
Between the river and ravens I'm fed
Oh sweet Deliver, You lift up my head
And lead me in Your way

Well I've grown sick and tired
Of trying to stand still
I've learned to let the wind
Blow me where it will
To throw myself into the will of the wave
How can we ever be brave until we're free

Between the river and the ravens I'm fed
Between oblivion and blazes I'm led
So father give me faith,
In providence and grace
Between the river and ravens I'm fed
Oh sweet Deliver, You lift up my head
And lead me in Your way

And though I'm walking through the valley
Of the shadow of death
And evil's all around,
It's coming from the right and the left
I trust that I will see Your glory above
Oh your banner of love, flies over me

Between the river and the ravens I'm fed
Between oblivion and blazes I'm led
So father give me faith,
In providence and grace
Between the river and ravens I'm fed
Oh sweet Deliver, You lift up my head
And lead me in Your way

Achievement

My great friend, Carl, gave me a little, blue card that had this written on it. I've kept it in my wallet ever since:

"Achievement is the result of making continuous efforts. The line between failure and success is so fine that we scarcely know when we pass it, so fine that we are often on the line and do not know it.

Many people throw up their hands at a time when a little more effort, a little more patience would achieve success. As the tide goes all the way out, so does it come all the way in. In business or in any other activity, sometimes prospects may seem darkest when they are really on the turn.

A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what may seem a hopeless failure may turn into a glorious success. There is no failure except no longer trying. There is no defeat except from within; no really insurmountable barrier - save our own inherent weakness of purpose."

Thanks Carl!

My buddy, Carl!

Dream Open

Every time you dream, you shut your eyes as hard as you can!

Practice dreaming with both eyes open. Project your dreams across reality. Reality sinks dangerously under the weight of a strong dream, into the dust beneath your feat. It's inanimate, foundational by design. Do not be intimidated by it. Build on top of it. Wide, open your eyes and project your dreams before you. Create what you see!

Into The Wild - A Book Review

INTO THE WILD by Jon Krakauer

Views and opinions of this book's young hero vary greatly. I spoke with a well read, senior gentleman who reached his conclusion half way through the book and quit reading. He said, "The kid [Chris McCandless] was an idiot [for going to Alaska with romantic ideas and minimal preparation]". This opinion is widely adopted.

I believe that McCandless had a brilliant mind. Highly intelligent people have weaknesses too; in fact, their hearts are just as susceptible to pain as yours and mine. Abandonment, disloyalty and disapproval wound every heart with an overall sense of rejection. Rejection breeds criticism, judgment and un-forgiveness.

Un-forgiveness sucks.

If we don't want to become terrible hypocrites, then we have to forgive people for failing us and causing harm to our hearts. I know that I have wounded someone's heart before. There may even be wounds that I have caused without realizing my fault. I am, and we are, constantly at risk of harming other people again and again. If we want to be forgiven for our faults, great and small, then we need to forgive people for their faults great and small.

McCandless could not stand the faults of his parents. He also could not stand the hypocrisy of the world. He could not bring his heart to reconcile the faults of his parents and the world. Chris wanted to be pure in the world and pure among the world's people. He wanted to see well, but he couldn't find a good vantage point. Looking at the world from the perspective of his own heart caused him to realize, that the lens through which he peered needed desperately to be cleansed or else he would never see through the fog. We, all of us, are what we choose to see. We are what we come to realize. We are what we know.

I am myself and this is how I see the world.

If I want to change myself, I have to change the way my heart perceives everything. Chris didn't want to replicate the faults that he saw. He wanted to purify himself. He wanted to change, to do away with un-forgiveness and hypocrisy. He wanted to be beauty and see beauty. What he did is what it took for him. Chris McCandless did not tackle the great outdoors or seek a sense of accomplishment. He tackled his own heart in the only place where he knew to find it, see it clearly, take it captive and begin to change.

Book Cover

Film Cover