June 22, 2016 – Hungry Horse, Montana

“You have a routine of change,”

Miri says to me as we hike down from a waterfall in Columbia Mountain, where we had a brief midday meditation session. We’re talking more about my lifestyle – our views on frequent travel and the pros and cons that inherently come with it.

A routine of change. The phrase speaks to me.

The conversation produces thoughts about “Into The Wild,” a movie we recently watched together. I read the book earlier in the year after enough people suggested it to me, apparently drawing some correlation between my life and that of Christopher McCandless. I can see some similarities; however, his journey was focused more on solitude and living in nature.

“He was flirting with permanence,”

I say to Miri in regard to a time in Chris’s life when he discovered a potential love interest, of which he ultimately decided to leave behind in his pursuit of the raw, real life experience that only Alaska can provide.

Flirting with permanence. The phrase speaks to us both.

We discuss the meaning of some of his last written words – “Happiness only real when shared.” I can’t say that I have had the experiences that Chris did, but from my own, I would agree with him. A life based on a routine of change has proven to be as exciting and fulfilling as I dreamed it would be, but the human connections that I develop on the way are proving to be the real driving force.

Exhibit A: Miri.

“But for some reason incomprehensible to me you wanted nothing but to bolt for home as quickly as possible, right back to the same situation which you see day after day after day. I fear you will follow this same inclination in the future and thus fail to discover all the wonderful things that God has placed around us to discover. Don’t settle down and sit in one place. Move around, be nomadic, make each day a new horizon.” – Christopher McCandless