When the stresses of childhood took me over, I took to the woods. Once I entered the trail head in the back yard, the world changed. It was a place to ride my bmx bike and jump off the big rock. It was the place I did all the things I wasn't supposed to, like smoking cigarettes and using a magnifying glass to light dry maple leaves on fire. It was were the tree fort was, and it was where my brother got stung by a billion bees after stepping on a nest. It was where we went sledding. It's where I found peace in what seemed a very chaotic world.
Most of all, it was where I felt happy and safe. No-one was yelling at me in the woods. The air smelled better, and some how I just felt free out there.
Its not surprise that as I've grown up I've been drawn to any activity that is done outside. And the more remote and or extreme the better. Looking at my Facebook friends, the vast majority of them are from sports I've participated in. BMX, Snowboarding, Running, Hiking, Motorcycling, Biking, Snowshoeing, Skiing, etc. Being outside has brought me close to so many people, I can't imagine a world without these places to play, hide, test myself, recharge and relax.
I actually believe that the Earth and all the people on it are one completely connected organism. And, I also believe that organism is what many would call God. Destroying the Earth means destroying ourselves.
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| We can't let this happen. |
Unfortunately many don't see the connection. Many believe that the Earth is here for us to use for the expansion of man and the industrialization of the globe. For some, money has replaced spirituality. And in the name of money, the 45th President of the United States has decided that the Earth is just ripe for more exploitation. By nominating and fast tracking Scott Pruitt, a well documented EPA critic, to the head of that very organization, DJT just handed Exxon the keys to an almost unlimited number of protected resources to lay waste. Dangerously short sighted if you think things like clean water and air are important.
We are witnessing the final takeover of our freedoms and rights by corporations in the name of profit. Money rules.
I can't sit by and just watch it happen. I need to get involved, but I don't know where to begin. As I've said, almost everyone I call a friend is also an outdoorsman/woman of some type. So tell me, are any of you as freaked out as me about this? Are you already involved? If so, how?
