Get outside

I firmly believe a little experience in nature on a daily basis is one of the healthiest things you can give yourself. Looking at pictures of beautiful scenery, reading books about the wilderness and conservation, listening to recordings of rainstorms and spring mornings...these are fine things, but are not a replacement for being out in nature.

Standing at the waterfront this evening, the lake was ablaze with golden light from the sun. Gulls were crying, robins singing, frogs peeping, doves cooing. There is no mimicking a moment like this. Even explaining it in detail cannot bring it to life and soothe a soul.

Yesterday I hiked probably about five or six miles, and today was a long day of high-ropes training at work. Needless to say, I'm tired. A few minutes listening to the animals and sitting quietly at the lake completely rejuvenated me, though. My body is still tired, but my spirit is calm and at peace now. Just being able to be present for a sunset outdoors can completely change my mood in a positive way. 

Intentionally spend some time outside every day near water, wild plants, or some other unaltered natural setting, and see how much better you feel afterward. If you're not close to such a setting, watch the sunrise or sunset. If you're willing, try leaving the city you live in for the sole purpose of spending a half-hour (or more) in a quiet park. Going out of your way to relax in nature is something which can have a profound effect on your mind and emotions, especially if it's not easy to get away. It is worth all the effort you can put into it.

Westward 2013, pre-launch

So, here we are again. The third summer's-end in a row I'm making a trip west. This trip is much different, though. Instead of a vacation, it is a work trip, a seasonal volunteer opportunity, a long road trip, a new temporary home, a chance to unplug myself from most technology and the rest of the world for a season.

The true reality of going to Idaho, however, is it will be a spiritual journey.

I am leaving behind the world I know: my job, my family, my state, my dear friends, my perspectives, most of my belongings, and maybe even a bit of my self. A different life awaits me on the opposite end of this journey. I do not know what it will look like, or if it will "look" different at all.

I will not be the same, though.

A friend told me this would be the case, but also explained how my old ways and thoughts will not be easily shaken off. Change, although encouraged by a new location and lifestyle, still does not come easy. It comes with a price.

I hope to spend a lot of time reading, writing (something I have not done much of before), making music, and experiencing God's beauty in the mountains. The same previously mentioned friend also told me to make intentional goals for my time there in order to get the most out of it and facilitate the change I desire. These goals are probably going to be related to the activities I just mentioned.

This weekend was a very emotional one for me. I hosted a send-off party at my house, and over thirty of my friends came to say goodbye. I received many kind words, and some meaningful gifts...the greatest of these was love. After almost everyone had gone, I realised how much I love my friends, and how much they love me. They truly are my family; not to diminish how much I value my family, but rather to say how much I value my friends. We treat each other as family.

Last night I took one final trip to Grand Rapids to support a friend who was performing a stand-up routine, and to see my best friend Korey. I don't often use specific names on this blog, purposefully so, but it is appropriate to mention him. We could not spend much time together, but it meant so much for us to see each other before I left. He also gave me some very meaningful gifts and words.

One friend commented on how we said goodbye as if we would never see each other again.

It is better to love fully, without holding back, than to keep it inside. Fear of rejection stifles the human desire to be vulnerable with each other.

A famous quote from C.S. Lewis:

"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable."

God is slowly showing me what love without fear looks like. Perhaps this is what will be different about me when I return to Michigan once more (I was tempted to write "for the final time" instead of "once more"...a good friend once told me I am very dramatic, but it is a good thing because God made my personality this way, haha. Perhaps "final time" is too dramatic, but who knows?).

On a different note, I am moving out of Lansing today. Tomorrow, Wednesday, and Thursday I will be traveling around southeast Michigan: cutting bank ties and seeing a few more friends before I go. Friday and Saturday I will be spending some final time in northern Michigan, and Sunday will be a farewell cookout at my church and one last board game with some friends from Lansing.

Labor Day, Monday, September 2, we leave for Idaho.

I know many of you will want to know what is going on while I am there. I will likely not be blogging or using Facebook during my time on the farm, and I have no idea if I will be able to call people using my cell phone. When possible, I would like to send group e-mail updates to those who will read them. If you want, send me an e-mail soon so I can have a list of addresses ready before I leave. No promises on the frequency of these e-mails, but I will try my hardest to keep you informed.

butlerc777@gmail.com

Your prayers are appreciated. Thank you.

Peace.

Finally

So, I officially deleted my G+ account tonight...meaning I am no longer a part of any social network (except for LinkedIn, but that's a professional site, and I'm rarely on it). Since getting rid of my FB account, I've been able to tell which of my friendships are actually going to last by how much effort certain people have put into keeping in touch with me. Now that some time has passed, G+ has gone from a transitional social network to an unnecessary one for me. A number of my friends read my blog, most have my cell phone number, and I'm connected with others via Skype, Steam, and League of Legends (online game)...not to mention the people I see face-to-face on a weekly basis without being in contact with them in any other way. Social networks are convenient and very helpful at times, sure, but I feel so much better when I am less connected to technology.

Next week is the last week of my park ranger job. I'm actually pretty sad about it; I've made some friends, my boss there is fantastic, and it really has been a great job so far. Our contract with the City of Lansing is expiring two weeks earlier than expected, though, and it won't be renewed...so there's no chance of getting the job back. Now I'm trying to get a better-paying job at a security company where a friend of mine works. I could really use a job that will help me save up money to move out West soon.

Tomorrow morning I'm heading to Sault Ste. Marie with my mom, where we'll be hanging out with my grandparents all weekend. Fishing at the Soo, birdwatching at Whitefish Point...good times. I love the Upper Peninsula.

Peace.

Fast Food

So, yesterday I found out something which I wasn't too excited about. According to the grades on Chuck White's website, I got a "U" in his class this semester. Problem. I'm done at SAU, but I need that class to get my degree. He told me in an e-mail I could finish up the readings his chart says I didn't complete, and that should raise my grade high enough to pass. So, this morning I'm reading Augustine's Enchiridion; I decided to take a break and write about some thoughts which have been floating around my head lately.

I often think it's easier to get fast food when I'm hungry. I can be sitting in my room and think, "I should go to Subway and get something to eat." Normally, however, the place I'm living has enough food for me to make a meal, even if it's a small one. Still, my thoughts materialise something like this: "Well, this isn't enough," or, "I don't feel like eating this right now," or, "This will take too long to make. Fast food is cheap, it sounds pretty tasty right now, and it won't take a half-hour to make."

There are some issues here. First, regarding the price, fast food is definitely cheap, but if I already have food in the house, is it not cheaper to eat what I have? I'll be saving money from my wallet immediately, and I will not be using gas from my car; I likely would be if I got fast food. Also, I'm not exactly a skinny guy. I can survive on small meals, and it will probably be better for me in the long run than stuffing myself full of McDonald's or even Subway, depending on how much I actually buy there. The food in my house right now, especially, is much better for me than fast food.

The second issue is this: many fast food chains try to make their products so they are as addicting as possible. Maybe some of you get that inexplicable desire for McDonald's cheeseburgers; you can't explain it, but you really want one, and no other food will quite do the trick. I know that feeling, at least. One of my friends (who may be reading this right now) once told me a story about when he was still a vegetarian. He went to McDonald's and ordered a cheeseburger without the burger. After eating it, he realised he couldn't even tell there wasn't meat in it, because it tasted exactly the same. Gross. It's obvious to most people that fast food chains are just trying to get people hooked on their food, but few people actually make the decision to forego fast food because of health reasons. This even relates back to money: fast food grabs my desires so well that I used to want it all the time, sometimes even letting food I already had go completely to waste, and I end up spending more and more money on it when I don't need to. Now I try to think of it this way: If the food is designed so I become even slightly addicted to it, wouldn't it be better for me to eat something else?

Third, fast food makes me lazy. I think, "Oh, driving a mile and grabbing a quick lunch at Subway will be faster than cooking the pasta in the cupboard." The moment I go through with it, I've given in to laziness, and am wasting the resources God has provided for me. I'm not pointing fingers at people who stop for fast food when they really don't have enough time to make a meal at home; I'm talking about myself, when I'm sitting at home and don't feel like making my own food. When I do this, I'm both hindering the growth of good habits in my life (patience, diligence, thriftiness, moderation) and engendering the growth of bad ones (impatience, sloth, wastefulness, excess).

In short, getting fast food may seem easier sometimes, but it's actually making life harder in the long run: it harms God's temple (my own body), it uses up more money than it appears to outwardly, and it harms my own spiritual and personal growth. I understand fast food can be helpful in certain situations, but making it a regular part of life is not a good idea.

Put differently, it's even more convicting to me: By choosing fast food when I don't need to, I'm deciding I want pleasure now and couldn't care less about the long-term consequences. Anyone reading this, whether you're a Christian or not, should be able to understand that this is not a healthy mindset. However, following Christ specifically calls for a lifestyle which is the polar opposite of this one, so I would hope my argument here would especially resonate with them. Unfortunately, I often find Christians actually care less about their bodies than the rest of the world; a very sad state of affairs, indeed. A case can be made that Christians should not focus their entire lives on the pursuit of health and wellness (and this is true), but a case cannot be made that Christians should not care for their bodies. I see people live out this mindset too often: "Well, I'm working for God's kingdom, so how I treat my body here doesn't matter in eternity." The first part is true enough, but who's to say God's kingdom isn't on earth right now? Maybe we should be setting an example with our lives. Just a thought.

Peace.