I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. ~ Henry David Thoreau
At sixteen years old, I checked out Thoreau’s book Walden at the library which, looking back seems like oddly heavy material for a teenage girl. I’m positive I did not read the entire book, but I underlined snippets, copying quotes into my journal, words which still hold great meaning for me today. I was intrigued by Thoreau’s quest for simple living. Similarly, I have long been fascinated by the story of Christopher McCandless, the young American man, a modern day Thoreau if you will, who left his life and possessions behind to embark on a solo adventure to backcountry Alaska. His story ends tragically too early, but the lessons of his journey are resonating. His pilgrimage was documented by Jon Krakauer in his 1996 novel, Into The Wild, and later by Sean Penn in a feature film. I recommend both. The quote in the header at the top of this blog comes from my favorite scene in the film between McCandless and Ron Franz, a stubborn old man and the last person McCandless encounters before he leaves for the backcountry wilderness. It is one of the most touching moments I’ve ever seen on film.
Yesterday I was reading the latest issue of Outside Magazine, and came across an article about McCandless and a new book set for a July release called Back to the Wild: The Photographs and Writings of Christopher McCandless. The book contains personal photos and writings from McCandless’ journey, all of which were stored in a safety deposit box with his family until now. I could imagine the family’s pain was too deep to release any of the artifacts sooner, but I am glad they eventually did. In the introduction to the book, Chris’ parents write “…the realization of the unique value of this remarkable visual and written record and the fact Chris was the author, ignited the spark which led to his story being told through his own medium.” Christopher McCandless’ story is one we can all be inspired by and take incredible lessons from.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32Js2Ef5Ojg]
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