April 24, 2016 – Helena, Montana

If I didn’t know I was in Montana, this place would make it apparent.

I mean… the door handles are actual deer antlers. The ten commandments are displayed on a stretched out animal hide. I take a seat before the sermon starts, and two separate older individuals introduce themselves to me as they walk by. Montana nice? I notice that the chandeliers are made from old wagon wheels and horseshoes. There’s a fireplace in the corner with rocking chairs nearby.

He doesn’t do this much anymore, but when offered, my host will guest speak at local churches. When he invited me to “Last Chance Chapel” I thought, How could I miss this? Even if I was some sort of atheist, I would still view this as an opportunity to witness a passionate man share his thoughts and beliefs in front of a small crowd.

His sermon begins with a review of his recent time in Nepal and the Philippines, working with children, spreading the good word. Something I would never be comfortable with in my current relationship with God, but I fully respect people that are. I don’t catch all of his points, but the premise of the sermon is very clear: the word of God stands forever. It will carry on endlessly, serving as a “blueprint for life.” In our personal conversations, he has alluded to this more than once.

The blueprint for life.

Such an idea is precisely what I left behind. Whether the blueprint is religious, societal, familial… I want nothing to do with it. In a way, I followed a blueprint for numerous years of my adult life: going to school, attempting to secure a career, buying shiny new things. Working more so I could consume more. Pay my debt faster. Unknowingly drowning out my dissatisfaction with Netflix, video games, alcohol. Marching to the same drum beat as most of my friends and family. And thank God I finally discovered the solution to my problem –

Creating my own blueprint for life.

“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.” – Albert Camus