I was reading the January 2007 issue of Outside Magazine today. I dig Outside. It makes me want to take an adventure to a far away place with incredible landscapes and rich cultures. This issue was no exception. While reading I thought quite a bit about a trip Jakeb and I are planning. This spring we are going backpacking for a couple of days, probably on the Ouachita National Recreational Trail.A group of featured articles in Outside this month are about happiness. In one of the articles the writer interviews Dean Karnazes during his successful 50 marathons in 50 days. He talks about how getting fit and eating right have improved his attitude and ultimately made him a happier person.
Another article talks about how simplicity makes a person happy and it quoted Henry David Thoreau. I think Thoreau and I would have gotten along just fine. I bet he was a very low maintenance kind of friend - assuming he had any friends.
Look at the following quotes from Thoreau:
"Do what you love. Know your own bone; gnaw at it, bury it, unearth it, and gnaw at it still."
"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer."
"I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude."
"Superfluous wealth can buy superfluities only."
Some other quotes from the magazine I found interesting:
"Marry the wild ones: You can tame the wild ones but you cannot make the tame ones wild." - Eric Hansen's 94 year old grandmother
I know some who would disagree. I just thought it was funny that a 94 year old woman said it.
"I think Western culture has things backwards. We equate comfort with happiness, and now we are so comfortable, we're miserable." - Dean Karnazes
"The bold don't live forever, but the timid don't live at all." Unknown (from Karnazes' blog)
Something for you to think about on your next backpacking adventure.
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