Me, my shadow, and 25-plus miles to the next mountain. It was a beautiful place to be. All alone at 8,000 feet, with no cell service, no WI-FI, and electricity being an honest 20ish miles away, I “almost” find peace. The weather is agreeable this time of year in Wyoming, but it isn’t hard to imagine Mother Nature putting you in a terrible place just weeks from now. Even in today’s modern, mundane world, there remain places where you must live differently. Wyoming isn’t the most remote place I’ve ever been, but it still takes real effort to reach a paved road and the forethought required if you decide on a “trip to town.”
Day-to-day life is simply more physically demanding away from urban areas and the creature comforts of the suburbs. It forces me to recognize how soft I have become. Every “home improvement” or step up in the standard of living (however you measure that) moves me further from what I love, being close to the natural way of things. I’m not saying I want to sleep on the ground and give up running water. But I assure you I will never visit another Starbucks or complain about a 20-minute commute.
I’ve touched on this before, but there is a cost to each additional, often unnecessary, level of comfort we add to our lives. Of course, as a Financial Advisor, I begin to contemplate and even calculate the amount of money we spend on these sorts of things and the perceived value they add to our lives.
A simple and, at times, annoying and expensive example is today’s vehicles. Honestly, how many cameras do you need to drive safely? And Wi-Fi? Someone, please argue that adding additional ways to access the internet has made for safer roads. But this is different from where I was going with this topic. Remote places, by their nature, simplify your time and space. You generally aren’t trying to multi-task in a modern sense, and your connectivity only starts when you sever your connection (to your phone, computer, or both). After a day, usually two for me, you realize everything is going to be ok, and the world isn’t collapsing. Try it. It’s liberating, and it works every time. Freeing yourself from modern technologies allows you to connect with the natural environment and truly may make you wonder what you are doing with your most precious asset, YOUR TIME. And why don’t you do this more often?
Sincerely,
Brian Pitell