Touching Fear

This weekend I took three very special ladies on an outdoor adventure. Two are my daughters. It had been a very long time since I had backpacked. It had been a long time since I had felt a cold morning. It had been a long time since I had visions of mountain lion attacks, disastrous falls, or spooking a sow and her cubs. When backpacking, every little object holds value. Every little object has weight, adding to a load I am responsible for. There are so many meaningful messages, metaphors, and symbols for a good poem in the backpackers mindset. The best for me is the idea of touching fear. I wanted my daughters to touch the sky this weekend. I wanted them to touch fear. I wanted to share that experience with them. We did it. There is a restlessness that I enter into when in the wild.

I question what type of father I am daily. This past weekend I took my daughters to attempt Mt. Sneffels. It is a 14ner, know as a peak being 14,000 ft above sea level. I was hoping that this would be a challenging experience for all of us. It was. I had a lot of hesitation about taking a 8 & 11 year olds up a mountain that many adults would struggle climbing. I added to the risk by making this my first attempt as well. I had never seen what we were going up against. Added to that risk my daughters have never been backpacking. Added to that risk my daughters have not been above 10,000 ft for longer than a few hours. My desire for them to experience the enormity of earth outweighed the sensibility of being safe. I wanted to teach my daughters about risk and calculating safety. I wanted to give them a real analogy to work with when life becomes a 14ner. We touched fear.

We were a team. There was four of us. Stephanie, my partner and relationship fear factor, was thought to be a risk on this trip, but complemented the experience. The four of us experimented with our fears, ambitions, and the space between. More on this trip to come.

Guatemalan Soldiers Sentenced to 6,060 Years in Prison for Role in 1982 Massacre

Guatemalan Soldiers Sentenced to 6,060 Years in Prison for Role in 1982 Massacre

When we are taught about what we contribute to the world as prideful Americans, we have a habit of NOTrecognizing our blemishes. I think this is my greatest lesson learned in life, thus far. How can I do a better job of recognizing my blemishes? what is it about my perception of American culture and my belief that we are selfish. I feel we do such a shitty job of taking responsibility for our blemishes. And it is likely that I still cannot do a good job of prosecuting myself. It is likely that the prosecution itself is the problem. Why would anyone want to be prosecuted. Maybe more like an intervention. What makes a country act moronic? I think it is the same thing that makes a person act moronic. In my opinion at root it's a lack of respect and connection to a tradition rooted in symbiosis wilth resources, craving, and the unknowable. I think what the fuck do I know

Serving Our Country

I find it interesting that close to half the people in the United States consider the government a gravy train. Yet these same folks jump at the opportunity to praise our military, firemen, police, and other duty oriented service bureaucracies. It is as if, the teacher, social worker, or environmental regulator, are something different. These folks are serving our country too. It blows me away how quickly the conservative philosophy calls for smaller government and contradicts its support of service to country. In fact they support the privatization of just about everything which, in turn, emphasizes a loyalty to the stakeholder, which in most cases desires a global audience. So I find the contradiction personal.

My dad is a teacher and my mother is a health administrator. They both serve their community using tax dollars. In a great picture they too are serving their country. The investor is the tax payer, whether it be a sales, income, or other tax. Is there inefficiencies in government run programs? Sure, but it is foolish to believe that corporations are any less susceptible to inefficiencies. It is getting irritating that with all the patriotism that exists, we are so forgetful that Wall Street is serving the largest global investment corporations in the world (brokers). So is privatization the answer, why argue? But if you are gonna honor the soldier for serving their country, please don't disrespect my parents for trying to serve theirs.

Free Wheel Women

"Feminists cycling and salsa...ing for social justice"

Last night while enjoying "En-Joy" I got an opportunity to talk with three inspiring women, Ashley, Alley (Alison), and Stephanie. Marble brewery has a patio area where we sat together having a brew and listening to some amazing beats. While sharing a table/picnic bench and some small talk Ashley revealed that they were sojourners. They are sprinkling their smiles across North America. From here the conversation grew into a deep sharing of ideas and experiences.

They were on a pilgrimage. I am fortunate to have crossed paths. I am reminded of women's wildness. Often wildness and adventure are reserved for men, but these three women represented the female passion for independence. We shared a longing to get to know what freedom feels like. So I am sharing them with this community. I hope they remind you all of how important it is to encourage our women to harness their natural feminine desires for adventure.

Free Wheel Women.....Keep your wheels free and turning

Que te vayas bien, mis amigas!

Ensenando el mundo

Khan Academy

Here is to Shitty Cameramen!

A tribute to a tribe