It rained today, and nothing of any significance came of that fact - other than that I found myself sitting in front of the great fireplace thinking...
I am privileged to bear witness to hundreds, if not thousands, of different personalities each and every day. Most people that I come in contact with are visitors to the park, here for only a few days. And, for the most part, these people are perfectly amiable.
One of my favorite things to do is to talk with complete strangers. For example, the other day while sitting writing postcards, I got into a conversation with the guy sitting on the couch opposite me. He was impressed that people still have the capacity to write things with pens, and I was impressed that he was a professional photographer from Las Vegas - a profession in which I assume is hard to gain notoriety; especially in a city like Vegas. We ended up talking for roughly an hour about photography, architecture, and his homemade mobile photo studio; and I daresay we almost became friends. Check out his website at www.robertrodriguezphoto.com. I promised to give him props on the blog, but seriously, he shoots some incredible photos.
On the other hand, however, there are the irritable tourists. You know the type: I've planned this vacation out to the second, so FOR PETE'S SAKE YOU'RE GOING TO ENJOY IT!!! This is Daddy's only week off... I'm reminded specifically of one woman who came through the Grill, found a minor something wrong with her meal, took it out on one of my coworkers, then proceeded to sit grumpily in her booth and write a novel on the back of a comment card. I was astonished by this woman's bitterness, and wondered why some people seem so miserable on their vacations. What's with the stress? Isn't that exactly what a vacation isn't? Honestly, I think that a lot of people treat their lives like checklists:
Go to college... Check.
Get a job... Check.
Get married... Check.
Have a boy and a girl. Name them Billy and Susan... Check.
Get a raise... Check.
Appear to have it all together. Become the envy of "friends"... Check.
See Old Faithful erupt... Check...
...And heaven help the person who stands in the way of checking off "Enjoy vacation with family."
I wonder what would happen if some geological disturbance caused Old Faithful to quit being faithful - or worse, retire for good. Would people still come to Yellowstone? Certainly the Old Faithful Inn would feel the pressure, and I'm willing to bet that someone would try to sue the National Parks Service for ruining their vacation.
But in reality, Old Faithful - though awesome - is pretty boring compared to much of the rest of the park. People are drawn to it simply because it's predictable. It's something that everybody is supposed to see. Somebody told them when to show up, and like clockwork, the geyser erupts. Photos are taken for proof. Check. What's next? Let's go to the gift shop to buy some more proof.
Meanwhile, two hikers eat lunch together under a waterfall that less than 1% of Yellowstone visitors will ever see. They don't have a single informational pamphlet or vacation guide with them, but they're enjoying each other's company.
(Side Note: I'm fascinated by the fact that I'm fascinated with the fact that the waterfalls and geysers don't ever stop going. There is no great big "OFF" switch. The Park Rangers don't shut down the attractions when all of the guests leave. It's a shocking revelation when you're sitting on a ledge observing nature that the river beneath you has been doing the same thing for thousands of years, whether or not anyone was around to sit on the ledge and observe it. And yet I wonder why it's such a shocking revelation. Are we so caught up in ourselves that we find it audacious to think that there are things in this world that are happening without our approval? Do we really not recognize that there just might be a higher power at work here? ... Just a thought.)
I'll be the first to admit that I sometimes find that I'm living my life like a scavenger hunt. I pursue experiences not for the sake of learning anything or even just for the experience, but for the sole purpose of checking them off my list of things that I'm supposed to - expected to - do. I want to do things because they would look good on my resume. I want a good resume because I want to get a good job. I want to get a good job because then I'll appear to have it all together and I'll look really good to everybody. Then, when everybody likes me, I'll be happy.
I think, though, that we have it backwards. Perhaps we aren't happy because people like us. Perhaps people like us because we are happy.
It all starts with attitude. Attitude will determine whether we will truly enjoy seeing Old Faithful erupt, or whether we will resent the fact that it was nine minutes late. Attitude allows us to confidently seize opportunities, and it allows us to be flexible when those opportunities turn out to be duds - which is frequently. The ability to be situationally (as opposed to morally or emotionally) flexible is one of the greatest virtues man can have. But this is impossible if our lives are like grocery lists. We'll pretty much always find that bread, milk, and eggs keep making their way back onto the list.
To live a scavenger hunt lifestyle is to assume that there are winners and losers. We decide that, in order to be a winner, we have to find all of our objects the fastest and in with the greatest style, and blinded by the desire to be winners, we speed through the game heedlessly - resenting anything that stands in the way of victory. Occasionally we pass something irrelevant that nevertheless looks really interesting, but in the name of the hunt we rush past it. Eventually, having collected our items, we return to base, anxiously awaiting the final results, knowing that we are winners...
...But why is it that oftentimes it's the losers of scavenger hunts that ended up having the most fun?
I am privileged to bear witness to hundreds, if not thousands, of different personalities each and every day. Most people that I come in contact with are visitors to the park, here for only a few days. And, for the most part, these people are perfectly amiable.
One of my favorite things to do is to talk with complete strangers. For example, the other day while sitting writing postcards, I got into a conversation with the guy sitting on the couch opposite me. He was impressed that people still have the capacity to write things with pens, and I was impressed that he was a professional photographer from Las Vegas - a profession in which I assume is hard to gain notoriety; especially in a city like Vegas. We ended up talking for roughly an hour about photography, architecture, and his homemade mobile photo studio; and I daresay we almost became friends. Check out his website at www.robertrodriguezphoto.com. I promised to give him props on the blog, but seriously, he shoots some incredible photos.
On the other hand, however, there are the irritable tourists. You know the type: I've planned this vacation out to the second, so FOR PETE'S SAKE YOU'RE GOING TO ENJOY IT!!! This is Daddy's only week off... I'm reminded specifically of one woman who came through the Grill, found a minor something wrong with her meal, took it out on one of my coworkers, then proceeded to sit grumpily in her booth and write a novel on the back of a comment card. I was astonished by this woman's bitterness, and wondered why some people seem so miserable on their vacations. What's with the stress? Isn't that exactly what a vacation isn't? Honestly, I think that a lot of people treat their lives like checklists:
Go to college... Check.
Get a job... Check.
Get married... Check.
Have a boy and a girl. Name them Billy and Susan... Check.
Get a raise... Check.
Appear to have it all together. Become the envy of "friends"... Check.
See Old Faithful erupt... Check...
...And heaven help the person who stands in the way of checking off "Enjoy vacation with family."
I wonder what would happen if some geological disturbance caused Old Faithful to quit being faithful - or worse, retire for good. Would people still come to Yellowstone? Certainly the Old Faithful Inn would feel the pressure, and I'm willing to bet that someone would try to sue the National Parks Service for ruining their vacation.
But in reality, Old Faithful - though awesome - is pretty boring compared to much of the rest of the park. People are drawn to it simply because it's predictable. It's something that everybody is supposed to see. Somebody told them when to show up, and like clockwork, the geyser erupts. Photos are taken for proof. Check. What's next? Let's go to the gift shop to buy some more proof.
Meanwhile, two hikers eat lunch together under a waterfall that less than 1% of Yellowstone visitors will ever see. They don't have a single informational pamphlet or vacation guide with them, but they're enjoying each other's company.
(Side Note: I'm fascinated by the fact that I'm fascinated with the fact that the waterfalls and geysers don't ever stop going. There is no great big "OFF" switch. The Park Rangers don't shut down the attractions when all of the guests leave. It's a shocking revelation when you're sitting on a ledge observing nature that the river beneath you has been doing the same thing for thousands of years, whether or not anyone was around to sit on the ledge and observe it. And yet I wonder why it's such a shocking revelation. Are we so caught up in ourselves that we find it audacious to think that there are things in this world that are happening without our approval? Do we really not recognize that there just might be a higher power at work here? ... Just a thought.)
I'll be the first to admit that I sometimes find that I'm living my life like a scavenger hunt. I pursue experiences not for the sake of learning anything or even just for the experience, but for the sole purpose of checking them off my list of things that I'm supposed to - expected to - do. I want to do things because they would look good on my resume. I want a good resume because I want to get a good job. I want to get a good job because then I'll appear to have it all together and I'll look really good to everybody. Then, when everybody likes me, I'll be happy.
I think, though, that we have it backwards. Perhaps we aren't happy because people like us. Perhaps people like us because we are happy.
It all starts with attitude. Attitude will determine whether we will truly enjoy seeing Old Faithful erupt, or whether we will resent the fact that it was nine minutes late. Attitude allows us to confidently seize opportunities, and it allows us to be flexible when those opportunities turn out to be duds - which is frequently. The ability to be situationally (as opposed to morally or emotionally) flexible is one of the greatest virtues man can have. But this is impossible if our lives are like grocery lists. We'll pretty much always find that bread, milk, and eggs keep making their way back onto the list.
To live a scavenger hunt lifestyle is to assume that there are winners and losers. We decide that, in order to be a winner, we have to find all of our objects the fastest and in with the greatest style, and blinded by the desire to be winners, we speed through the game heedlessly - resenting anything that stands in the way of victory. Occasionally we pass something irrelevant that nevertheless looks really interesting, but in the name of the hunt we rush past it. Eventually, having collected our items, we return to base, anxiously awaiting the final results, knowing that we are winners...
...But why is it that oftentimes it's the losers of scavenger hunts that ended up having the most fun?
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