Wow…it got to 75° F today! An absolutely gorgeous day to be outside. I opened up the house, turned off the heat, and have been doing a few little things outside plus playing Frisbee with my dogs. Sitting on the porch swing is always a good way to relax.

So is grilling. I saw this weather coming later last week and got some salmon and chicken out of the freezer two days ago to thaw. I fired up the propane grill and put a char on all of it. Three salmon meals with Italian 5-cheese mac and nine chicken tenders I can shred for several of my caprese sandwiches. I will have plenty of food in the freezer for a little while now. I shall prepare to feast!

🖥️

I came across an interesting article on the internet I wanted to share.

Seminars to get out and find yourself. I found it a very novel concept, but I can really see the value for many people who could be afraid to make a change in their life; it can be an overwhelming and even drastic first step for a lot of people. I know.

I took the test they have on the website (use an email alias to protect your real email address and get your results) and I ended up being “The Seeker”. If you have read my blog for a while you know that is not a big stretch with that finding.

I, however, did not need to pay in $3000 to attend seminars to do it; I got rid of most of everything I had left after losing the rest of it and just did what felt “right”. It was a leap of faith in myself and my own abilities and is probably not for the meek or motivated.

I guess my inner Seeker really came out in 2012 when I left Colorado, started this blog and went ↖️ to the PNW. I posted about this several years ago, but around 2007 I saw a documentary called “The Journey” (no, not the dog one 🤦🏼‍♂️) and then read “Into the Wild” and between the two kinda messed me up – totally unconventional wisdom from a different viewpoint. Then, I saw the movie version of “Into the Wild” and that really affected me & made it a little worse. I needed to break out of normal and find me.

Since then I have done so many things, been to so many places and have seen so much. I had a lot of fun learning more about not just the world around me, but even more about myself. You know my motto – “Travel will change you if you do it right”(c).

There is the wisdom (hopefully!) of the years and the things that affected our lives – how we were raised, where we were raised, and the influence of the things and people around us during our formative years. But, we cannot let these things keep us from being open to learning, eating, seeing, experiencing and doing new things.

I think there is a lot to be said about finding out more about yourself. I have grown from the experiences & challenges, and the changes I have been through has made me a better person.

I know the further west I went for the first time the older people seemed to be more active out in nature doing many things like volunteering in parks, walking the trails as docents, etc. I talked with a woman who was just returning from a 5-mile lighthouse beach walk for the third or fourth time. And she was 82, healthy, and seemed a feisty sweetheart! She had her “posse” of five other ladies who I knew as volunteers in the wildlife refuge. They were living their best lives and enjoying every minute of it.

Another thing to ponder is the fact that besides many being resistant to change, there are also things that society looks on (defines) as “normal”, like the way most everyone lives in a more traditional sense – house, cars, kids, minivan, job, soccer practice – and people get upset because you live differently. (Hell, I did ALL of that but I found the fork in the road, I took it, and it led me to where my life is now.) Some people worry about what others think, others don’t. Really, they are passively telling you how to live your life.

And hey…if you love your life as it is there is absolutely nothing wrong with that and I am certainly happy for you. If you DO want to take that fork go at your own pace – you will know. But, and this is important, don’t deter or criticize others for loving THEIR life, especially if it differs.

I wish we had more of that in the world…and that is why we need to be out experiencing it.

See how I brought that full circle there? Pretty sneaky of me, eh? And I saved YOU $1500!

You’re welcome. Now…about that other $1500…

That is all for now. Time for sleep.

See ya!

Shawn