Its 5am… I should be sleeping, instead I am watching a movie titled, Into the Wild. It is a coming of age tale about a man who refuses to be trapped, trapped by society, rules, expectations, ideals and education. He had everything, a college degree, money and a lucrative future. But to him life was not about those things, life was actually about living a life worth living. He only had one goal and that was to travel to Alaska.
So he set out on a adventure of a lifetime. He sold his life savings and just left. He departed from a comfortable life to find meaning in his life. I began to think about my life… what am I doing to make my life better? Am I product of society? A living, breathing robot going through the motions of what the world says I am supposed to do. If I am becoming that, I am not content with that…it is time for a change…it is time for action.
Freedom.
Let go of the things that hinder you. Make a list of those things and cross them off one by one. What are the things in your life that hinder you?
Disconnect.
There is something beautiful about being able to leave everything behind… leaving technology, cell phones and society behind to find meaning. For most of us it is not possible to disconnect completely. I suggest reserving a day where you escape from these things. Take a hike in the woods, go for a run or a bike ride. Just do something to get outdoors and away from your normal routine.
Devotion.
Be devoted to your list and make a change.
Take action.
There is a saying around Vineyard Westside, Don’t talk about it… be about it. Talk is cheap… follow up those words with action.
What is your idea of happiness?
People think to be happy you have to have a career, a wife, kids and money. I am not saying those things are bad, I want those for myself someday. But I want to live my life in the moment and enjoy things as they happen. There will never be a perfect time to do something. The time is now!
Ok its 6am… and if your reading this sorry to bother you with my ramblings of a insomniac. I am going to sleep, like a “normal” person. I leave you with this…
Christopher McCandless is a beautiful character. Just watching the clip made me get a lil teary eyed. I strongly reccommend reading the book.
dont forget:
“happiness- only real when shared”
I will have to check out the book…
there was so many good quotes from that movie… I need to watch it again just so I can write all the quotes down!
Andy, great post! Now I surely want to see the movie and read the book. This is oh, so ever tempting — as I’ve been struggling with my purpose for a few years now (too long that’s for sure). Separately, do you have an inspiring music collection? For some reason, I’m thinking you might. If so, I’d love to pay you to made a CD of it for me. I’m on the edge dangling trying to just let go (and find my purpose) and trust I’ll land where I need to land and I believe music helps me along the way.
Traci, I am glad you liked the post and I am glad it encouraged you. I would love to make you a cd… but under one condition… you don’t need to pay me. One of my goals for my blog is to help others reach moments of clarity within their lives. I think we are always trying to find purpose in life…just remember life is a journey!
You gave me an idea for my next blog post.. music that inspires me!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758758/quotes
maybe that will help?
my favorite of all time is the first one about being strong.. it’s been in my fb profile forever now
thanks!
PS traci– i just downloaded the whole album off the internet. I went to http://www.dirpy.com and turned all of the Eddie Vedder and into the wild videos into mp3s and saved them=]
hope that helps!