Heroes And Leaders

Heroes and leaders rise to the occasion because of who they are, regardless of their past.

I find it interesting and troubling that we expect our heroes and leaders to be mistake free and above reproach.  They are vetted in the media, taking the word of others who are likely not free of fault themselves, for our amusement and ultimately our attention in the name of news.  They are vilified by the same media and we talk negatively about them as if they are out to get us and are at the same level as the devil.

At the same time we hope, want and often demand that our flaws, past sins and youthful mistakes be dismissed and overlooked.  We all long to be forgiven as the past as we cannot return to the past and the only hope for the future is learning from mistakes and evolving for the better over time.

I will wax religious, which is rare for me in a public forum, and refer to the life of Christ.  Jesus lived a perfect life that was free of sin and he's often pointed to as the ultimate example.  And yet the bible teaches that "All have sinned and fallen short...".  When reading the stories of Jesus, I see something different, something that I hope to aspire to.  Jesus loved everyone regardless of who they were or what they had done.  He was able to connect with a person without criticizing or condoning their past or current actions.  In doing so he inspired everyone he met to be better and expect more of themselves.  This was his power and what scared the "establishment" who used peoples flaws and sins to control them and extract payment for forgiveness of those flaws.

We (me included) are searching for heroes and leaders to inspire us and make us better and I'd like to propose that they are out there and they're either unwilling or afraid to step into the forefront as they know their past will not be accepted.  Instead they quietly lead in their own domain, be it business, writing, art or sports.

My question is, what would happen if we were to accept the strong heroes and leaders for who they are today and what they could be in the future instead of focusing on their past mistakes and flaws.  Remember it's the past mistakes and flaws that are the best teacher and the fact that they've been overcome is a measure of strength.

Gerald Trees
Musings And Observations Of An Adventurous Life Seeker

Terror Attacks On Brussels

Like everyone on my side of the world, I woke to the news of terror attacks on the city of Brussels.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims, their families and to the citizens of Brussels and the country of Belgium.

I would like to ask everyone who reads this blog to focus your thoughts and energy on the victims and the people of Belgium.  They need it the most right now.

Gerald Trees
Musings And Observations Of An Adventurous Life Seeker

What's Wrong With The World?

What's wrong with the world?

I am

You've probably compiled a mental list and are about ready to shout it out loud.  It's easy to take the snippets of the news and form an idea of what's wrong.  Unfortunately your view and mine are skewed by what the media reports, what friends and family say and our fears.

Over one hundred years ago British writer G. K. Chesterton was invited to write an essay on this subject.  To the question "What's wrong with the world?" he wrote, "I am."

Chesterton was an influential writer in his day and he was humble, which why his contemporaries, even those with differing opinions, had great respect for him.

When Chesterton was asked to write this essay (the invitation was made by a well know London news paper), he could have easily taken aim at government, religion, race, the wealthy, how some dressed, things we often look to today and yet he chose to look at himself.

For me, Chesterton's two word response was "eye opening" and caused me to look at myself and what I was doing to make the world a better place.  I quickly realized that it wasn't much, which has set me off on a new adventure.

I'm going to stop here as I would like anyone reading this to gain their own meaning and answer to "What's wrong with the world?"

Gerald Trees
Musings And Observations Of An Adventurous Life Seeker

Adventure Must Be Planned

You're likely thinking "how can you plan for adventure?" or "that sounds boring".

Here's how planning adventure works.

Adventure takes place during the journey to a destination.  The destination can be a physical place on a map, a personal goal, a business venture or anything you can imagine.  Picking a destination is the first part of the plan.

The second part comes in choosing the time to begin your journey.  Pick a specific date and time as "someday" is dangerous word and usually means "never".

The third part is making sure you have what you think you'll need on your journey.  For a trip, it could be clothes, insurance, emergency numbers, and copies of you're travel documents.  For personal goals it could be a mentor or taking classes.  This part is important, however be careful as you'll never feel fully prepared.  Get the basics ready and then go.

Finally, and this is the key part.  GO!  The hardest part of any adventure is taking the first step.  That first step is also the most important part.

The view from an unplanned side trip that was part of a "planned" trip

Remember that the journey to the destination is where adventure will be found and adventure can happen even if you fall short of the destination.

Gerald Trees
Musings And Observations Of An Adventurous Life Seeker

What's Around The Next Corner?

What's around the next corner?

You could answer this question a couple of ways.  One possibility is "I don't know, let's find out."  Another possibility is "Probably something boring or dangerous, let's turn back."

If you want adventure, go with "I don't know, let's find out" as your answer.

The corner could be a road, mountain trail or researching a subject you're interested in.  The "end of the road" may prove to be boring, dangerous or amazing, however the journey will turn out to be the most memorable part of your experience.

Take a risk and find out what's around the next corner and enjoy the journey that unfolds.

Beautiful views at the end of a "unknown" road

Or a dead end...

A unmarked road somewhere in the Peruvian Andes

Gerald Trees
Musings And Observations Of An Adventurous Life Seeker

Different And Yet The Same Or Better

History has a way of being repeated and yet most of us fail to see this.  We feel the events that are happening in "our" world are new and worse then what's happened in the past.  Some will long for the "better times" of the past and worry about today and what the future has in store.

Recently I ran across a story written by economist Roger W. Babson that has helped me gain perspective and has reduced some of my concerns about our times today.

"When I find myself depressed over present conditions, I can, within one hour, banish worry and turn myself into a shouting optimist.

Here is how I do it.  In enter my library, close my eyes, and walk to certain shelves containing only books on history.  With my eyes still shut, I reach for a book, not knowing whether I am picking up Prescott's Conquest of Mexico or Suetonius' Lives of the Twelve Caesars.  With my eyes still closed, I open the book at random.  I then open my eyes and read for an hour; and the more I read, the more sharply I realize that the world has always been tottering on the brink.  The pages of history fairly shriek with the tragic tales of war, famine, poverty, pestilence, and man's inhumanity to man.  After reading history for an hour, I realize that bad as conditions are now, they are infinitely better than they used to be.  This enables me to see and face my present troubles in their proper perspective as well as to realize that the world as a whole is constantly growing better."

Babson passed away in 1967 at the age of 91 and this story was likely written during the time of World War II.

In memory of where the World Trade Center Towers once stood.

A testament to the resilience of humankind.

I believe the point of this story was to point out that humankind has issues and if history is an indication of the future, humankind will continue on and worrying about what will happen in the future (including tomorrow) is a waste of time and energy.

Gerald Trees
Musings And Observations Of An Adventurous Life Seeker

Politics...

I'll admit that I've taken an interest in the 2016 Presidential race in the United States, my home country.  I've lived the last 26 years in Canada and watching this race from north of the border, while being asked by friends in Canada what I think has been "interesting".

My interest has been less about the positions and views of the candidates and more about the "marketing" that's being done and what's "working" on the consumers (voters).

After the Republican debate last night (March 3, 2016), my advice to the voters would be to get your money back and find a set of candidates that have some self respect and who have intelligence enough to discuss and debate the issues at hand and not the size of one of the candidates hands.

The childish behavior that took place in this debate should sicken voters who should demand their candidates to show leadership, if they even have it in them.  Americans deserve more from their leaders then what they're getting now and if this is the best that are willing to step forward, Republican and Democrat, it's time for a change to the current system.

Better yet, perhaps it's time for people to step up as a whole and make their own communities better, showing the "leaders" how it's done.

Gerald Trees
Musings And Observations Of An Adventurous Life Seeker