Just finished watching the movie “Into The Wild” and whether you’ve seen it and liked it or didn’t like… it is not important. What is important is that at some point in time in your life (at least once and hopefully more), you’ve probably questioned why you are here and who you really are. Contrary to what some people believe, we are not measured by our accomplishments, how much stuff we own, how much money we have, how many friends we have or don’t have, how famous we are… and the list keeps on going and going. I believe we are measured only by our own internal self and if we are content with our journey through life, then that is all that matters.
 
You always read about how unhappy really successful business people are, how unhappy major movie stars are, how unhappy pop music stars are… and on and on. You may say to yourself, “They have everything going right in their lives. They have all the money in the world. How can they be so unhappy?”
 
Christopher McCandless (“Into The Wild”) gave everything he owned away. He gave 99% of all his money away, placed a backpack on his back and drove away in his car one day. Shortly later, when his car couldn’t be driven any longer, he started walking. He was on a journey of discovery. He was on a journey to find out who he was and why he was on this earth.
 
Until I watched this movie, I thought I had lived a simple life. When I moved to Estes Park, I either gave away or sold 99.5% of all my possessions. I now have 2 boots, 2 hiking shoes, some lumber shirts, some t-shirts, a few pair of jeans, some jackets, etc. In my storage closet is my 3 guitar cases, a few suitcases and a couple plastic boxes to store some odds and ends. Only 1/3 of all the kitchen drawers and cabinets have anything in them. In my garage is a shovel, a broom, a car and my kayaks. I don’t own a television… but based on the movie, I was living the life of luxury. I was living in a castle. As I look around my home, I have a lot of stuff compared to the clothes on his back and everything he owned carried in his backpack. But compared to all my friend’s homes, my home has almost nothing…. and I prefer it that way.
 
We do not need a lot to live on and I believe the simpler the life, the easier it is to discover who we really are and who we really want to be (less complications). I once thought that my 40 years in business as an entrepreneur (starting and building companies) was my reason for living. Not so! All I have to do is go outside and look around, start walking in the woods and really feel if I am content. If the answer is NO, then there is something missing in my life.
 
I have thought numerous times to undertake an adventure similar to Christopher McCandless, but as time went by and more obligations crept into my life, the task seemed almost impossible. How am I going to pay my house bills if I am “Into The Wild”? How am I going to keep the car battery charged? How am I going to keep the pipes from freezing in my house? How am I going to contact the members of my family? …and the list keeps on going on and on. Is getting older a hindrance to discovery? I don’t believe so. Getting older only adds to the reasons in your own mind why you can’t rediscover. If your brain can still process, you can rediscover.
 
There has to be a balance of what Christopher wanted to discover and what other people who can’t do what he did want to discover. Not many people can go “Into The Wild” even though everyone has the same opportunity to do the same. He met a lot of people during his life and in his own way, gave people a new glimpse into their own journey. But it is always up to the individual to salvage from his or her own life, to retrieve or to rediscover what and who they really are. This really is one of the most important aspects of the film. Almost everyone loses direction and purpose of one’s life and finds themselves floating in a raging river, out of control and without a paddle. It is the real person who is on that raging river, has a stable boat and is paddling in their own direction that know what is needed in their life. “The Journey Is The Reward”… not the destination. Hope you have the courage and determination to rediscover yourself. Today would be a great day to start.