Double Rainbow!

Make that Sun: 2 / Paul: 1. For reasons unknown to me, my friend the sun betrayed me again today by roasting my head, shoulders, knees, and toes. Perhaps it was teaching me a valuable lesson – higher altitude, if colder, means closer to the sun and less atmosphere to filter its fury. I’ll keep that in mind so that the next time I go hiking without sunscreen, at least I’ll know beforehand that I will be rendered crimson.

Otherwise, today was great. I hiked 12 miles into the beautiful wilderness, took full advantage of “Employee Appreciation Day” (which included 40%-off at all stores – the perfect opportunity for me to snag some deodorant – and a banquet which showcased dinner that was good enough to not be cafeteria food), learned that volunteering at the Backcountry Office might be the coolest job ever, and finished off the day with a double rainbow. All the way across the sky. Yes, today was great. There’s currently a fire blazing in the huge fireplace at Old Faithful Lodge, and the sun is setting directly behind the perpetually-steaming geyser…

…And yet this sunburn is really a bummer.

Oftentimes we focus so intensely on minute tragedies that we forget about the gorgeous 200-foot explosions of boiling water that happen in our lives every 93 minutes. Everybody is a culprit of this – especially those of us whose explosions are particularly dazzling; those for whom extravagance is normal and boring. I find myself falling into this category too frequently, running after all of the “stuff” that life tells us we should run after. It seems that, for many with Parker Brothers inclinations, LIFE is just a game in which the person who accumulates the most stuff comes out as the victor. In the game of LIFE, you don’t get points for watching sunsets or chatting idly with strangers – those things simply get in the way of ultimate victory. But what kind of victory is a daily 9-holes in Naples if that’s the only story you can tell your grandkids? “You should’ve seen the shot I had on the back fairway. Truly a work of art.” I’m slowly realizing that the things that make me truly happy are the things that can’t be put on credit (though you wouldn’t believe that by looking at the bill). What good is a sportscar if you don’t have anybody to ride shotgun? Though this isn’t just about money.

It’s about experiences. I recently read Donald Miller’s A Million Miles In A Thousand Years, in which he wonders what kinds of things he would talk about with God when he got to Heaven. He ultimately decided that the conversation would revolve mostly around his acquisition of a Boy Scout merit badge, for lack of anything better to talk about. Miller raises a good question, and I strongly recommend any of his books to anybody… But I have a revision to make to this scenario. I would rather that my heavenly conversation be a continuation of the one I had been having with God my whole life. One of the greatest benefits of enduring friendship is the ability to look back on mutual experiences and remember once again why you keep these people around. Most of the time you’ll find that the experience was memorable because they were around. It’s funny how simply the presence of certain people can completely change our experience. What might have otherwise been dull and unfulfilling could turn out to be unforgettable. And the great thing about this kind of relationship is that almost every aspect can be translated to human relationships as well.

Perhaps another night I might write more extensively on some of the many subjects that I just rambled about, but right now I’m going to cap off this good day with a goodnight. 

But wait! I have a photo album up!

...and it will be coming soon, because I can't figure out how to link it to the blog. Help with this would be appreciated

But here's a sample from my good day: