transition: mntn life

"Love will tell us the rest of what we need to know, soon"- Rumi 

So i have reached a very new season in my life.  After working very hard this summer with the NOST after school/summer camp program and taking a break from bike riding, I have moved on to a new adventure.  The job is new, the adventure is a bit of a returning.  I will be working part-time (hopefully full time soon!) with Eastern Mountain Sports and continuing to guard the night as the NLI nightwatchman.  Working at EMS has re-opened many doors in terms of outdoor adventure and racing, and I am very hopeful about competing and SHARING adventures this coming year.  After all, life is not about me; but then again, God knows our hearts and the things in life we love, the elements and purpose in all we do.  Our passions are not just things, but they also help us write the story of who we are.  They tell us what we really want and what matters most- 

I Hope whatever season you are in, or if things are changing quickly and you don't really understand why, that you can hang on for the ride and know it will all make sense soon.   

Post script: Whenever I write the word "Hope" i try to capitalize it.  I know that you are only supposed to capitalize proper nouns and such, but i believe Hope is a special word.  Maybe the most special of them all.  Hope is a feeling, Hope is a smile, Hope is an inspiration, Hope is a movement: Hope is real.  Check out Romans 5:5 for further details...

 listen:
 Switchfoot (Jon Foreman)- "thrive"

2nd wind

There is no other sporting event I enjoy more then the Tour de France.  The race is epic and challenging to say the least; it is torture at best.  Through picturesque countryside, riders traverse an entire country in 21 days of racing all by the power of their own two legs.  Wow cannot begin to describe it!

For such a race, there are great stories.  Each day is filled with triumphs, overcoming, Hope and heartbreak.  Similar to the recent soccer world cup, there are rrepresentatives from all over the world.  It is beyond category!
My favorite stories are the ones of courage and passion, or, as the Italians call it, panache!  The days where a rider breaks away from the pack all day and wins the day in front of his compatriots or when a rider finishes the race despite a crash that would put most in the hospital for a month.  The stories of true grit, and never giving up.  Of setting your sights on a goal and reaching it no matter what.
This years tour has been full of such stories.  Even today, Lance Armstrong attempted to win the day by riding over four mountains solo to the finish over one hundred miles.  He did not make it.  However, his effort was valiant and had all the fans reminiscing about his wins just a few years back. 
But it was truly the attempt that took the most courage and gave everyone, especially Lance, a reason to Hope.  This is every bit a parallel to real life.  We are more then halfway through summer.  For many their have been great struggles, beautiful and equally gut wrenching stories, reasons to Hope and reasons to doubt.  Yet it is in the attempt, in the saying "yes", in the moving on, even if that movement is at a crawl; it is in these things that our stories are truly made complete. 
In endurance sports, after the rush and speed of the opening of a race, or a long mountain climb, an athlete is said to get their "second wind".  A rush of adrenaline and strength that leads them to get back in the hunt or otherwise continue on towards the goal. 
My Hope is that,
wherever you are,
 in reality and passion,
in spirit and in truth,
that you are on your second wind, or quickly approaching this renewal, while keeping an iron focus on the goals of Life and Love.
This is not just my Hope, but it is also my belief.  I know that you will find that strength, from deep within, and when you do, know that you are courageous and lovely, a bright spot in a universe that would sometimes seem against all that is good and true.

It may not start with moving all the mountains in your life,
but it may just begin with YOU.

Listen:
josh moore- "too good to be true"

Dedicated to Vino'- for second wind, and second chances...
(photo courtesy of Graham Watson)