How are you doing? Are you a happy, content, excitable, and a lovable individual? Do you have a strong passion for something? It could be absolutely anything. Before you move on from these tiny questions, think about it for a second. Take 30 more seconds to think about it. You might see something that you would not have seen if you would have just breezed past these questions. Are you being good to yourself? Maybe take another 30 seconds to appreciate yourself and the ones around you. Appreciate the path you are taking right now. If you think you cannot do any of these things, then please, challenge yourself and try.

As we all know most of us live a very fast, complex, short, and confusing life. It's hard to slow down, sometimes impossible. You always hear people's opinions about the way most live their lives in our society. Well, I'm not here to tell you what I think, because most likely I have already told you many times what I believe. Plus, who cares what I think or what anybody else thinks? But, I have got a story to tell that surprised me and threw me through a loop when I experienced this. Hopefully, you all feel the same.

Yesterday, I biked up to my usual bouldering spot a few minutes from my house. It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon in Bend. The smell was out and about dancing a duet with the breeze. The true feeling of being ALIVE is the only way to describe this day in Central Oregon. I round the familiar corner on the trail and see the rocks waiting for me to come and give my undivided attention to them for a little while. I toss my backpack, walking shoes, and sweatshirt to the far end of the rocks, away from where I would be climbing mostly today. I put on my purple climbing shoes (I have no idea how I ended up with purple climbing shoes) and taking in the view the town of Bend and the surrounding high desert. I begin climbing and I am grooving, feeling good. A half hour goes by while traversing back and forth. This kid comes up the hill, off-trail, with a stick in his hand, hiding from the trail runners and walkers from the cover of the sage brush and pines. My estimation was that he must of been no older than 13 years old. I remember back when I was a kid letting my imagination run wild, pretending like I was some kind of ninja with a mission to get from point A to point B without being seen. I chuckled to myself and kept climbing. About half a minute after seeing this kid, I look back, and see he is gone. I didn't think anything of it, kept on climbing. I round a bulge in the rock and hear a noise coming from where I put my backpack down about 15 yards away. I see the kid rumbling through my backpack pulling out my school books and notepads. I laughed to myself again and didn't say anything. There was nothing of value in there. This kid does not see me until I jump off the wall and make a noise on the brush, at the bottom of the rock. I ask him if he found anything interesting, he said no, and that he was sorry. I didn't care. Kept climbing. He comes around in front to climb with me after I get back on the rock, and starts to climb higher and higher on the rock. I told him to be careful, and he replied that he has been climbing these rocks for 3 years now. I said ok. He gets to the top and keeps hanging around. I didn't mind. I divert from the traverse I had been doing and decide to give this overhang a try that I have had trouble with ever since I had started climbing there. The kid sees what I am going to try, and proceeds to say, "there is no way your going to get up that." I laughed and said, "thanks man, 'preciate it." He was right, I didn't get up it, but I did better than I had ever done, so I was satisfied.

Kid: I hate this tree that is right here. It's standing all alone, right here, in the way of my view. This tree should be cut down so we can have a better view of the town and the desert.

Me: I don't know man, I kind of like the tree right there. It's out of place, gives the place some substance and health. You can see through the tree. It's not screwing up your view.

Kid: No, it's in the way of my view. It should be cut down.

Me: Well, should we just cut down everything that is in our view?

No response

The kid starts hitting a branch of another tree. He proceeds to knock off the whole branch with his stick.

Me: Hey, dude! Why are you doing that!?

Kid: Just because...

Me: That tree never did anything to you. I hope you feel really good right now. I bet you feel really strong and powerful, dontcha?

Kid: Yeah... kinda.

Me: Good. I'm glad you do.

Kid: I hate Blackberry's. I hate how people are so dependent on their phones and technology.

Me: I hear ya man.

Kid: I would love to hide someone's Blackberry from them and see how bad they freak out. You know they call it the "Crackberry", because people are so addicted to their phones.

Me: Hahaha! Hell ya man! I would love to see how someone would react to their iphone or Blackberry being hidden.

Kid: They would probably start getting Blackberry withdrawals. Ahhhhh! I NEED my Blackberry!!

Me: Hahaha. Ya they would probably start having BA meetings, Blackberry Anonymous meetings. People would lose their minds! Technology is defiantly a weakness for us.

Kid: Yeah! I would love to see every piece of technology not work for 24 hours! It would be anarchy! Everybody would flip.

Me: Think about it. Agriculture, heat, cars, our daily lives, everything, is run by computers! People would freak. I wouldn't want to be here (on earth) to experience that.

Kid: Yeah, I guess so.

Me: Well man, I'm outta here. What's you name dude?

Kid: Ohhhhh, I don't think I should give out that...

Me: Of course, I forgot about that, my bad. I'll just call you "Jerry". Later Jerry, good talking to you.

Kid: Hey! What's your name?

Me: Ted.

I'm sorry this was so long. The reason I told you this story is because it gave me something to look forward to. I know this kid is probably in the minority in what he believes, but there are younger generations out there that have the potential to "get it". I, myself, doesn't really know what "it" is, but I dig "it". This kid went from the kid saying that nature must be tamed and controlled to we are digging ourselves deeper and deeper into our own little fictional world that we have made through technology.

Slow down. Get back to basics. Get your simple mind back. Forget the other horse crap around you. Next time you hike the Flatirons, Spencer's Butte, Aubrey Butte, or anywhere where you feel that you can slow down and, stop, listen, and smell everything around you. That will be as real as you can get.