Living in earnest
I went to Alaska for the first time this month. I spent 10 wonderful days looking spruce, birch, mountains and big sky. I saw glaciers and icebergs and wonderful rivers and lakes. Moose, fox, Dall sheep, grizzly bears, reindeer/caribou, otters, lynx and a few other critters were all ticked off my list-o-things to see. I took note of bald eagles, chickadees, and kittiwakes. Of course, I could not help but notice the dragonflies and killed my share of mosquitoes. Alaska was immense, beautiful and left me feeling in awe of the people who have lived there without the aid of modern conveniences such as running water, electricity, and motorized vehicles.
I was fortunate enough to be able to stay in a dry cabin for the first week. The cabin was built near a pond and required the occupant to walk along a little track through the forest to get to it. There was an outhouse with a view of the forest. The cabin itself had a porch that one could sit upon and just rest for a while. I was reminded of how much I like running water for flushing toilets, hot showers, washing machines. Having a vehicle in good working order is a necessity. It would be a challenging environment to live in even in the summer without these conveniences.
Despite the very different landscape, I was struck by certain similarities between Alaska and Hawaii. Life explodes in Alaska during the summer months. Likewise, living things grow prolifically in Hawaii, only they do so year round. On arrival, I was somewhat overwhelmed by how lush, green, and alive Hawaii is. Alaska impressed me much the same way. Everything was living in earnest. Nothing questioned what it was there for, what its purpose in life was, what it would do each day...it just was and did.
I want to live in earnest too. I am just not sure how to do it.
I was fortunate enough to be able to stay in a dry cabin for the first week. The cabin was built near a pond and required the occupant to walk along a little track through the forest to get to it. There was an outhouse with a view of the forest. The cabin itself had a porch that one could sit upon and just rest for a while. I was reminded of how much I like running water for flushing toilets, hot showers, washing machines. Having a vehicle in good working order is a necessity. It would be a challenging environment to live in even in the summer without these conveniences. Despite the very different landscape, I was struck by certain similarities between Alaska and Hawaii. Life explodes in Alaska during the summer months. Likewise, living things grow prolifically in Hawaii, only they do so year round. On arrival, I was somewhat overwhelmed by how lush, green, and alive Hawaii is. Alaska impressed me much the same way. Everything was living in earnest. Nothing questioned what it was there for, what its purpose in life was, what it would do each day...it just was and did.
I want to live in earnest too. I am just not sure how to do it.
