Monday, July 15, 2013

The Best Remedy Is To Go Outside



Maybe it’s that I was raised in the “Last Best Place” of Montana that has always enabled me to feel a more intimate connection to nature. Or perhaps it is just simply that nature, wherever in the world you find yourself immersed in it, offers visitors a momentary glimpse of heaven where everything is at peace and the world just seems to be more comforting and manageable.

One of my favorite quotes about nature is actually found in the diary pages of Anne Frank. She sums up, more eloquently than I ever could, how being in nature changes a person and how being in it, is more healing than any other medicine on earth.

“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. As long as this exists, and is certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.”

A few days ago I had the privilege of re-immersing myself in the abundant nature all around me in Montana and Miss Frank’s quote was the only thing that went through my mind.

With my dad, boyfriend, and a bedload of dirt bikes in tow, we headed out toward Suller Gulch past Canyon Creek. After riding several miles up slippery two track trails, we came upon a hillside that I had to blink and shake my head a few times at to make sure it was real. The entire hill was the brilliant color of fresh picked lemons. It was covered in thousands of bright yellow flowers. It absolutely took my breath away. I could’ve run back and forth through those flowers all day, bending down occasionally to breathe in their scent. 

The glorious golden field


But we journeyed on.

After several more miles we came around the corner and saw a parting in the trees. Through them was the most glorious view of rolling green hills and mountains for as far as the eye could see....and a sky so blue I couldn’t believe it was real. Standing up on the mountainside and gazing out, I felt complete and utter peace in my soul. And all of the troubles and heartaches I left town with were suddenly forgotten. As Anne Frank put it, the view brought “solace to all troubles.” That peak wasn’t anywhere near the height of Mount Everest, but on that afternoon I truly felt on top of the world. I felt happier...and stronger...and more content with the world. I never wanted to come down from that mountain.

Can see for miles and miles


I took dozens of beautiful photographs on the ride, but the ones that remain in my mind and heart are far better. They are the ones that will sustain me when times get rough in life and I long to be somewhere far away. As James Barry put it, “God gave us our memories so that we might have roses in December.” Whenever I feel lost and hopeless and lonely in life, I will close my eyes and go back to that golden hillside and mountain peak and find a peace and strength that nothing else can deliver.

Wherever you are, find a slice of nature nearby that stirs up such feelings of elation for you...and journey there as often as possible. Periodically immersing yourself in nature will heal and comfort you far more than a friend or a drink. It is where you feel like you are a little nearer to God and to the beginning of all things.

Friday, July 12, 2013

How Many Followers Do You Have?

Last week on Facebook, I read something that was not only inspiring but thought provoking. It made me smile in reminding me that greatness is not always determined by popularity or conformity.

The phrase was simple: “Just because someone has more followers than you doesn’t mean they’re better than you. Hitler had millions. Jesus had 12.”
When I started this blog, I did so with the sole intent that I wanted to try and do something good with my writing. I don’t care whether five people or 5,000 people read it. I don’t care whether it ever catches the watchful eye of a publishing company that subsequently offers me a book contract like in the movie Julia and Julia….although that would be quite fabulous. All I care about is that at least one person--somewhere, someday-- reads it and walks away from it feeling better about life and who they are as an individual. I have no idea as to how many people actually read this blog, although I do hear from people on a regular basis who’ve read my most recent post and commend me on it. My blog following is small and largely limited to people who know me. But you have to start somewhere.

Most everything I do in my life...whether it’s my writing, pedaling my bicycle a ridiculous number of miles just to see if I can, trying my hand at playing hockey, loving people unconditionally who bring nothing good to my life, or riding a wakeboard in a hot pink tutu…I am constantly trying to push myself out of my comfort zone, raise the bar for what women are capable of, and setting myself apart from the majority.
And some people think I am absolutely crazy for those and so many other things! Some people won’t even associate with me…whether that’s because they are intimidated by me, they don’t understand me, or I’m just too much to handle, I’ll never know. But quotes like the one on Facebook remind me that things like that should not be deterrents in the things I try to do or be. There was a time when people thought it foolish when Columbus said the world was round, not flat. Or when Lincoln said that slavery should be abolished. Or when Susan B. Anthony preached that women deserved the right to vote. Or when it was finally announced to passengers that the “unsinkable” Titanic was foundering in the middle of the Atlantic.

Some of the greatest things achieved by mankind were at one time thought to be impossible. Some of the greatest minds were once called crazy and foolish. The world’s largest religious following today was started by a man who initially only had 12 followers and who was ultimately put to death.
The point is that thinking outside the box and going against the grain is an incredibly difficult and burdensome path for those who choose to travel down it. There will be far more reasons along the way to turn back and conform to what everyone else want you to do and believe. But in order for the world to evolve and become a better place, there has to be some brave enough to stay on course.

My dream of being a writer and doing something good through what I write is a lofty one. And odds are I will never have the literary success of Ms. J. K. Rowling or win a Nobel Peace Prize or have 5 million followers on my Facebook page or blog. And unlike some people I know who have had nothing but success in their life and flash it about with expensive toys, houses and adoring groupies, my success someday will be displayed in the smiles on people’s faces when they read my articles and books and them feeling better inside because of a sentence of mine they couldn’t get out of their head.  I may never have a large following for my writing or anything I do in my life, but that doesn’t mean I won’t still achieve greatness. I believe that a person’s motivation behind what they do with their life is a bigger determinant of the level of success and greatness they will go on to have….whether during their  time or long after. Hitler did horrible things and sought to wipe out an entire race of people simply because they were different. He had millions of followers during his reign. But how many does he have now? Jesus showed how you could live a good and pure life and he died to save the souls of all mankind. He had 12 followers during his lifetime….today he is worshiped by billions of people on every continent on earth.
The number of followers you have…in whatever you do….does not determine success, greatness, or goodness. What determines those things is your reason behind doing them and the nobility and integrity of that reason.