a reluctant enthusiast, a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic

Thursday, November 9, 2006

Sitting here behind my desk, looking out at the beautiful mountains with the exquisite fall colors makes me pause and realize once again that I will not be confined to sitting behind a desk for the rest of my life. I will soon be out there in those mountains. This is just a means to an end right now. I just wanted to echo the words of Edward Abbey when he said:

"One final paragraph of advice: do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am - a reluctant enthusiast....a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it's still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much; I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk-bound men and women with their hearts in a safe deposit box, and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this; You will outlive the bastards."