Wednesday, January 23, 2008

From the wild into relationships


I went with some friends last night to see the movie "Into the wild". What an amazingly powerful film! I think we all left it a bit shaken, hopefully in a good way. The film follows a bright young man who leaves everything behind to persue his dream of living in the wilds of Alaska. He figures that he doesn't need anyone or anything to be happy. He soon realizes that as fantastic as the location he is in, he writes that "happiness is real when shared".

This makes a lot of sense to me. I remember one of my Mom's uncles talking about the death of his wife. He remarked that the sadness really manifested itself when he had a particularly great day in the wild, maybe seeing some beautiful scenes, or wildlife. Then, he'd realize that when he got home, he'd have no one to share his experiences with.

One of my goals this year is to include others in what I do. In years past I've experienced some amazing things: driving through the Kootneys, camping on Saltspring, exploring Botanical Beach near Port Renfrew. But, all of those experiences I did alone, and in that as great as they were, always felt a bit hollow, a bit less joyous. The thought always crossed my mind: "I wish there was someone here to share this with". So in this next year, I want to revist some of the amazing places I've been, but bring others along with me to share in the beauty and wonder of what God has created.