“Believe it or not,” (Idea Guy, Pete) exclaimed, “you and I don’t even have to worry about being in shape.”
That sounded odd. (Author, Kevin) How could we pull off an expedition such as this without being in top physical condition?
“Because,” Pete said… “the hike itself is the thing that’s gonna get us in shape for the hike”
“Really?” I mumbled, trying to wrap my head around the logic.
“You bet. In fact that’s the coolest part of the entire plan.”
“Look,” he continued, “this warm-up cruise with Rich and his guys, it means the whole time we’re down there, the canyon is gonna be polishing us off like little gemstones, and by the end of the first phase, guess what?”
I could not imagine.
“You and me will turn into a pair of hard-core hiking buffs and all we have to do is show up.”
“Dude-we can do this thing off the couch.” *
A Walk In The Park, by Kevin Fedarko. pages: 89-90.
“The depth of our delusion in believing that we could traverse the canyon off the couch with little preparation and virtually no experience, was etched in the expression on Pete’s face … as well as on the soles of our feet 48 hours later. In just six days, the immense physical demands … had broken us to the point where we had collapsed. The following day we ended our bid and headed for home, vowing never to return.” (Caption of three photos showing the hikers physical conditions.)
Dear Fellow Hikers,
I bought and read A Walk In The Park this past December as a Christmas treat. (Full price, hard cover edition!) If you are interested in adventure travelogues, I highly recommend that you consider reading it. Along with the adventure story, I learned much more than I expected about the Grand Canyon, its physical and tourist identities, as well as the people who live in and around the canyon. But for today I simply want to focus on the two main adventurers and the off the couch* philosophy that they (initially) embraced. This is a classic learn from other people’s mistakes story that I plan to turn into a (ongoing) learning experience for me and our readers as well.
In last week’s letter I declared that “Love God Back…” is now the mission of our Life Hike Letters. My intentions were to simply write this week’s 500-800 word letter and explain exactly what Love God Back means. As excitement and inspiration took hold of me for this writing journey, the only thing I was missing was an enthusiastic: “Dudes, we can do this thing off the couch!” Fortunately, taking to heart my idea to learn from others mistakes gave me pause enough to not jump right on this trail and wing it as I go.
After several drafts of this letter, I finally decided to stick with what has worked well for me in the past. I’m somewhat insecure with my academic theology education and what I know about faith, God, and the relationships both hold with humanity. However, I do have very strong beliefs about my faith, about God, and my relationships with both. So I ask you today to get off the couch and join me with some of the work in preparing for a journey… a journey with yourself and your most intimate relationships, seeking a better understanding, of what you know, what you believe, and what you desire from (or especially if you desire) a relationship with God.
I begin this Love God Back journey by making an addition to a wandering I previously wrote: I Believe (S1/L5) Once again, I’m sharing some of my beliefs and some of my Love God story, hoping to better help you discover your own…
I Believe… that there is a God that created the world and everything that exists in this world. I believe God loves all of creation unconditionally. I believe that God’s love for all of creation is best described as a intimate, personal relationship. I believe God passionately wants all of creation, of their own free will, to actively participate in that loving relationship*. I believe God loves us all… and wants us all… To Love God Back…
With Care and Gratitude, Dan
Postscript…
Re:*off the couch… Full disclosure, the author wrote an extensive footnote clarifying that both he, and his hiking companion Pete, did an extensive amount of planning and prep for the trip… however as the second quote above shares… it was not even close to being enough preparation. If you don’t have interest in reading the book, I suggest you do an internet search and look up some of the reviews, videos, photos and other learning resources that are very helpful in better understanding the depth of their adventure (that they did eventually complete!)
Re:*actively participate in that loving relationship… This is the only belief I share today that I’m going to support with a Biblical reference… God's first and greatest commandment… To Love God…
Next Up: “Sky Pilot” Who is your guide?… Who do you guide?… (Friday, 02/21/25, S1/L12)