My Declaration of Independence
Jul 17th, 2008 by admin
You might think that the pounding in my head would have been enough to wake me, but it was the sledge hammers that did the job. They pounded away in an unrelenting counter beat to my throbbing temples. A work crew was erecting a large white tent for a wedding reception near the grassy spot where my buddies and I had fallen asleep. Having spent nearly all our money in Jackson Hole’s Cowboy bar the night before, we didn’t have enough left for a motel room.
That’s my only memory of my first trip to this remarkably beautiful corner of Wyoming more than thirty years ago. Today I’ve come with my wife Patsy to experience the Tetons in a totally different way. I’m aching this time too, but it’s a much sweeter ache, one that’s deeper and heartfelt.
The beauty of the Rocky Mountain West is stunning, but especially here in the Tetons. Patsy and I hike up to a small glacier lake between the Middle and South Teton. We stop a few minutes to cool our feet in the icy water. We are surrounded by wildflowers and shaded by a few tall pines. As I look at the reflections of the snow capped summits in lake, I wonder how I could have missed all of this incredible grandeur before. That’s the heartache I feel.
Just as I start to wallow in some remorseful thoughts of a wasted youth, I see the gift. It always works like this. What I am seeing and feeling on this trip with Patsy could only happen now – not sooner, and not later. My life unfolded in the way that it did through a series of events and personal choices. The sum of my life experience brought me here to this place where I can now take it all in with reverence, gratitude and love.
I love the irony of my life. It is never what it first appears to be…a business success story ends in failure. That failure leads to the most fulfilling work of my life. That is why I refuse to be trapped or defined by my past. How could I possibly have any regrets when I see the gift of my past? How could I ever fear an unknown future when I understand what got me here? And just when I think it can’t get any better, it does.
