On Purpose

You know when you see something so apt to your particular condition in life that it feels like it must have been crafted with you in mind? There's a moment like this in Elina Osborne's It Is The People | A Pacific Crest Trail Film, a gorgeous film documenting Elina's experience hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. The film, while wildly beautiful and showcasing the natural glory of the PCT, is about more than just hiking; vis-à-vis the title, it's all about the people. 

But let me back up.

I've been thinking a lot lately about how to wrest control of my days back from the uncertainty of the quarantine, a period in which, for me, time has seemed to flow with a passive, impersonal regularity. Every day it is suddenly 4 PM, and, after that, it is suddenly 11. I hate it. Running has helped, as it forces me to focus inward and elongates time in the most painful of ways. Reading has also been gratifying, the turning pages a physical realization of the ticking clock. And yet time marches on, and I often find myself unable to wrangle it as I'd like. 

Back to the video. 11:25 in, Elina asks a man why he's hiking the trail. His response: "I wanted to do something that was on purpose instead of just by chance." It's a simple enough idea, but to me, a revelation. I now see that I've always wanted to act with purpose. Having realized this, I need to alter my lifestyle to meet such an ideal. Goodbye passivity, hello control. 

Beyond reading and running, I'm on the lookout for more ways to act with purpose. Long-term goals seem to be a key ingredient. I won't share all of mine at the moment, but one that's especially germane to this post is the following: I will thru-hike the Pacific Crest Trail. I will. There will assuredly be more to come on that in the future. 

I couldn't have known it at the time, but this blog was started as another way for me to assert control over my life. I'm happy I have it. I'm happy I can now articulate why. 

Check out Elina's YouTube channel and the film that inspired this post through the hyperlink above. Thanks for reading. 

-TWTD