Self-Help, Personal Growth & Psychology

Tedium is a regular part of my job. But today the graphs and calculations fall away as I inhale the scent of dirt and spruce needles. Out here, I am half scientist, half disciple. I’ve left the laboratory far behind and, with it, the need to quantify and contain. In its place, I’ve reconnected with the simple act of observation.

Never before have I seen work as a task to be shared, and not only shared, but made light on its feet with humour and pranks as if it were something wonderful and not a life sentence.

The difficulties I had encountered were superseded by stirring memories of the vastness, remoteness, silence, and incredible beauty of this pristine wilderness.

• About 99% of the time, the right time is right now.

• No one is as impressed with your possessions as you are.

• Dont ever work for someone you dont want to become.

• Cultivate 12 people who love you, because they are worth more than 12 million people who like you.

• Dont keep making the same mistakes; try to make new mistakes.

• If you stop to listen

In an environment like that, you have to make a mental and emotional adjustment to it. For me, that wasn’t a problem. After so many treks, I had learned to forget about my job, the bills, the car that needed servicing, how poorly the Yankees were playing, and the phone call I forgot to make. Instead, I focused on the present, on things I could