Nature is cold. So am I.

It's cold here. Very cold. I made the mistake of saying "it never snows after my birthday" and nature proved me wrong. It's listening, that nature.

Take Time to Make Time

Below is a Mono-logue post I wrote several moons prior, that I should read more often during days of stress. Enjoy, and follow the Mono Lake Committee's blog. You won't be disappointed.

Take Time to Make Time

I have a dog and a car on the brink of explosion. The combination of the two means more time spent rambling through sagebrush and walking interwoven dirt roads on the east side of Highway 395 … on foot.

Max-dog had never seen Rush Creek, which is a travesty for a Mono Lake Committee dog. We found ourselves yet again rambling via dirt road; exploring side roads and slowly making our way to the line of green willows that mark Rush Creek’s path. It took several hours to find the best swimming hole. We came upon several, but decided to keep going in search for the best. Along the way we saw hundreds of birds, several deer, what we surmised to be mountain lion scat, and chipmunks galore. It was hot, but it was also glorious.

Much of the time spent walking, I was thinking about an article I read recently, titled I Want it Today. Amazon.com is aiming for same-day delivery of any product ordered online from their website. While this lofty goal proves human ingenuity and innovation can make our lives more convenient, wasn’t I just learning how wonderful “inconvenience” was? What if I had driven straight to the swimming hole? I would have missed so much. Amazon (and other online stores) may spell ruin for brick and mortar retail stores because we all demand instant gratification. As the manager of the Mono Lake Committee’s Information Center & Bookstore, I should be worried.

Walking back to the car, refreshed from a dip in Rush Creek and ready to face the dusty road ahead, I realized I wasn’t going to be concerned. Mono Lake Committee members and visitors come to the east side of the Sierra and take time to do the same thing I was doing; explore. Instant gratification means experiences missed along the journey. Imagine missing the smell of a physical book while leafing through its pages in your favorite bookstore. Or finding a book that you didn’t know existed, tucked between two of your favorites on a shelf, and reading the first few pages realizing that you are in for a good story.

That walk  was a good reminder to me, and hopefully others, to make time to take time. The final destination might be great, but please do not miss the journey.