Dreaming Away

Sometimes the battle isn't to lose weight, or to get stronger, sometimes it's about doing your best to stay engaged. To stay engaged in relationship, to stay engaged in the job, to stay in community, to stay with the task. At times I find myself thinking more about change, maybe a new car, a new house, a new place to live. Perhaps it's a new job. The battle is about staying with it at times.

Sure dreaming is good. It can actually help spur on creativity and new ideas. But it can also be dangerous, causing you to check out, to disengage, to loose focus because your focus has shifted. I'm not sure how to fight it, or even if I should. I think it is most important to just acknowledge it and the impact it can have. For me dreaming is part of living. But living also has to do with sticking with it when things get hard or tough. Today however, I am dreaming of the warm beach, of winning the lottery, and of new challenging adventures. Tomorrow, I will be back at work Battling On.


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Dog Mountain on Fathers Day

At ten O'clock we converge on the Dog Mountain trail head. By we I mean the Samuelson family. Some of us have boots, others have running shoes, and a few are in sandals. We have water, cameras, jackets, and energy. From the minute we hit the trail it is almost straight up. We are heading 3 miles to the top. Derek keeps telling us the easy stuff is ahead. As we keep going I become more and more out of breathe, my calves start to burn, and I start asking if it is really worth it. At a split in the trail we are given a choice. We can go a shorter more difficult path, or an easier, longer route. Of course, we go shorter. As I look up I see Gray running up the incline. there is no questioning the beauty of this hike. I am in awe of the trees and under growth. The wind is blowing in the trees and the sound is amazing.

Making one last push, we come into a clearing and all the pain is forgotten. It doesn't matter that you would have gone the less difficult route. You are here. The jackets come out as the wind blows. You watch the clouds race by. And you are taken in by the view, the accomplishment, by the wonder of nature. As you look around you see smiles and you enjoy a break from walking. We have climbed over 2800 feet in elevation to get here. We have walked for two hours. And, as you look at everything around you it doesn't matter.

We slowly start back down. Now the legs start to hurt in a different way. The knees scream, the steps jar. But the destination is more than the bottom and the seat of the car, it is Walking Man Pub. It is food and an icy beer that I am hiking down for. As we sit and recount the hike we are tired, relaxed, and glad for the time spent together outside in Oregon. Happy Fathers Day to each of you.

The Mind as it Relates to the Battle

Tonight as I sit here thinking about life, I come back to the realization that the battle is all in the mind. Win there and you have won.

Some times the battle ends in death

I recently had my 48th birthday. We hung out as a family, did some hiking, and had a small party. Throughout the day, I found myself thinking that I might be closer to the end of the race then the beginning. It wasn't a depressing or morbid thought, it was just looking realistically at life. We only circle the sun so many times, take so many breaths, have our hearts beat so many times. The real question is what are you doing with the time you have.

As I jumped on facebook today, I came across a post from my cousin Jill. After a short battle my Grandpa Louie has passed away. My cousin had this to say:

The world lost an amazing man today. A missionary, a lovely person, a very wise man, loving, caring, extremely smart, Knowledgeable in many languages, teacher of many things...love of my grandmas life...our grandpa. He went to be with God today: he waited until he made sure Grandma was settled in to their new living center and getting used to her new surroundings. We will all miss him and his presence. ♥

For Grandpa Louie he made the most of his time, and those who knew him were different as a result. Even so, his battle ended the way all of our battles will end. Make the most of the time you have. We don't know how much of it we have.