Only You Can Conquer

               You remember that visceral feeling you had the first time you ever rode down a steep hill on your bicycle?  How it shook those butterflies in your stomach but your senses were sharpened, what a feeling indeed.  To the best part inside of us, this is the best feeling in the world; the edge of control, the heightened sense of life.

              If we don't have that feeling at least somewhat often, are we really living our life?  If every moment of our life is something that we're used to facing, no matter what our past experiences, then what kind of life are we living?  Is it even something worth living?  Do we bring value to our world?  Do we matter?

               Incredibly hard questions that we ask ourselves are questions that cause emotion: anger, disgust, bitterness, sorrow.  Of course we matter!  Why?  Are you bringing a service to the world no one else can?  Is your existence something that couldn't be replaced by someone else who gets paid less and is much more handsome?  I occasionally look at myself and wonder if what I'm doing is making the world a better place, and I look for ways to increase my positive output.  To bring value and to improve others, the world.   To help.  This blog didn't have much of a point for a while.  I'm working on bringing it about to what I had originally aimed at:  "Philanthropy: altruistic concern for human welfare and advancement,usually manifested by donations of money, property, or work to needy persons, by endowment of institutions of learningand hospitals, and by generosity to other socially useful purposes."

--Hook

Evergreen

A bit of mountain prose for everyone! Enjoy!



Young as the saplings of fresh charred forests.
Full of unbridled vigor for all things unmeasured.
Lay down before him at his feet are the tools for which he can conquer mountains.

Beyond his grasp--both physical and thought--the summits are which we all aspire.
But we will some none ever dare to take that first step, for fear we may stumble.
Let us not be held back by what society now calls 'maturity.'

Instead, let us be free of mental burden and strive for the summits of faraway heights.
The strength lie within us to conquer all things that come our way.
It is our choice whether we use it or not.

--Hook

Pushing Your Boundaries

Have you ever made an analogy in jest, only to have someone say to you, “you could never do that.”  Oh now, then it gets personal, as if they have just slapped you.  What you said was initially in jest, but now you come to realize, after thinking about it: “ What the hell do you know about me, to tell me I can’t do something?”  I remember when I was young, for some reason or other, making a joke to a friend that I could climb a mountain, and he said with the utmost seriousness, “you can’t climb a mountain.”  It rocked me to my core!  How insulting!  You, a supposed friend, telling me my limits! 

Blog Videos!

So I just got a brand new little video cam, a kodak zx3 sport, and I'm pretty excited about it!  I just wanted to see what everyone thought about some video blog topics.  Here's some ideas, but feel free to something out there; gear reviews, simple introductions, controversial topics, best trails/areas in Austin.  What do you think would be some good ideas?

--Hook

Two Fingers at a Time

         From outside or at a distance, the problem is less absolute.  Less menacing.  Approaching it, you may seem outwardly confident, or maybe you’ve even convinced yourself on the inside that you are sure.  You take hold, placing your hands and feet ever so slightly, yet very purposefully, on each hold.  As you ascend, there isn’t much that crosses your mind.  Only ‘left foot here, right hand there.’ ‘Right foot there, left hand here.’ ‘ Now lift.’ ‘ Got it.’  

I call it Beautiful.

              Although the collapsed grotto is not exactly the loneliest of an oasis, it is perhaps the most beautiful place I've been to in Austin.  Surrounding yourself with such a place grants anyone an insurmountably tranquil feeling that you can't help but stay there for the hours that pass only as moments.

The Proper Method Of Enjoying A Cigar

The cigar is an iconic symbol for a reason.  You see leaders, rulers, writers, nobility, white collar, blue collar, all sorts of people enjoying the bundle of leaves that are rolled so carefully and with such passion.