Newly Efficacious

The onion is the allegorical example best applied. As layers are peeled back, the core is better revealed, better realized. It may take some tears, it will definitely take determination, and what you find on the inside probably won’t look much at all like what you started with on the outside.

As I used to wander through life, it was easy to carry a chip on my shoulder, my heart on my sleeve and a monkey on my back. My mind was open to any possibility, however, at the time, I only put myself in places where not very much could’ve been possible. I was like a photographer using a wide-angle lens to capture a very narrow pocket of space, like the intersecting vertices of two walls meeting the ceiling. I had my head buried in the sand, so to speak, and I was nosing my way deeper and deeper into oblivion.

The day I met the Colorado River, a whole new world of possibilities began to show itself to me. The water, the current, the silt, the blue sky, the never-ending sun, the red rock, the yucca, the whiptail, the turkey vulture and the golden eagle…the list is endless. Torrential adrenaline rushes in whitewater and serene scenery in calm water opened my mind like no batch of acid ever could have. I saw nature for everything it was worth. As each day on the river went by, I knew less and less what this world, this life and my place in it was all about. What was most important, was that I was beginning to feel alive. When you spend any length of time under water wondering if you’re going to be able to come back out, it’s like a rebirth. The river takes you under and coddles you. It shows you that the world around you as a whole is exponentially greater than the sum of all your parts. A niche was found…my niche. This writer of experiences realized that the world is out there to be explored, for every element of wonder there is. This is God’s world and we’re living in it! This adventure is our homage to His creation. This life is His homage to our integrity. The river rolls on down to take-out beyond take-out. Every run, a rebirth. Every breath, another reason to live. This is where we prove our integrity.

Requiem For a Joyful Journey

What a joy it is, this wonderful place! To get away alone for a day, only a faint trace of the human race. To live in Utah, in this mountainous wonderland…I hear the sounds of a distant stream, the subtle crackles from firewood, the flicker of light in the distance…

Sitting in the back of the Cherokee, writing down simple thoughts, thanking God for who I am, and forgetting about what I am not. The bright future lies ahead, and I remember the river…flowing as it did and I followed it. She cleansed my life, once in shambles–yet now there is a glimmer, a reflection of light on the other end of a long tunnel…

The Shallow Valley Narrows

In this magnificent world, this world that many say is turned upside-down, which is quite possible, we must remember who we are. To remember who we are, we must know who we are. The path through life that leads us to come to know who we are can be treacherous. Our mission, our goal, our experience, can lead us through many dark and precarious places. The strength to carry on, or even survive the trials we put ourselves through, often times, may escape us.

The only way I made it to this point, is by knowing there are Powers That Be, greater than me…hope and positivity are tools to bring the unknown world to your doorstep in a way that is perceived as light and glorious. Don’t fall by the wayside, there is nothing down there for you!

Self Intervention

Friday, July 9

Every time I watch the television show Intervention, I get my hopes up for the individual(s) featured in the episode. The producers of the show usually do an excellent job of introducing each character and drawing the audience into their stories.

The show is actually quite depressing. 90% of the time, whatever the problem, the person ends up going to the rehabilitation program that the producers are offering. You get to see how happy the family is that they finally decide to quit drinking or shooting heroin or throwing up after binge-eating. Then they show how healthy and happy the person is after a couple of months of treatment.

At the end of each show, you can expect to find out that after getting a taste of the good life, the drugs and alcohol ultimately defeat the individual. You’ll see something like, “After 90 days of treatment, Ryan went back home to his family and relapsed on heroin.” This is where I get pissed-off, because it is the same story over and over.

Drugs and alcohol, along with mental illness, are destroying our civilization. Human beings all over the world are bombarded with tempations to “drop-out” of day-to-day life. One of the endless reasons why this happens is because drugs and alcohol do actually have something to offer. Being drunk or high feels good…for a little while.

If you are a family member or friend of someone with a drug or alcohol problem, or mental illness, you may have a hard time understanding what this person is going through. You may find it impossible to pinpoint why they are doing what they are doing. I may be able to shed some light on this topic…this blog will aim to do just that.