A Beginning

As strange as it sounds, the sky really does seem bigger here. Perhaps living on top of the Continental Divide, the surrounding land falls away around me, pulling the sky down with it. But that cannot be, for the Rocky Mountains encase my view - the earth reaching up to the sky. Regardless, that cobalt sky will be the spectator of my next adventure, the peeks will be my playground.

This past September came and went strangely for me, as I felt something begin without me. The academic pattern, now gone, itched at my mind, like the ghost feeling of an amputated limb. I was home, welcome and unwelcome, moored but adrift, happy but discontent, altogether a place, both in time and space, of inaction and contemplation. Gradually, I realized that it was time for action, time for some new experiences, time for some adventure, and like Lewis and Clark, I moved West. Of course, my covered wagon was a steel plane compressing months into hours.

So here I am: Breckenridge, Colorado – or Breck in local lingo. And what the hell am I doing here? Active relaxation: primarily snowboarding and working a restaurant job I’ve yet to acquire. However, as most of you know, I’m not one to let my brain sit idly. Throughout my life, I’ve sought intellectual challenge and though I’ve paused my institutional education, I still seek to explore the world.

To that end, I’ve created a project. Everyday, I will be spending an hour or two reading articles, books, watching videos, and movies, and taking notes. At the end of each week, I’ll spend a couple hours processing and digesting the notes, formulating my thoughts into a semi-formal article. The blog builds a measure of accountability into the project, ensuring that I keep myself on track, my mind engaged, and my writing regular. To have you on the other end will motivate me on lazy days. Whatever level of interaction you wish to offer will be appreciated: comments on ideas, writing style, ideas for further investigation, added information on the topic, video responses, topics you might enjoy reading about. You may suggest anything. You may criticize anything. I may respond, react, change in response, or I may not. Regardless, your interaction will only improve the success of the blog. Your role, as the reader, is to keep me accountable for continued work. And my role, as writer, is to keep you engaged, through research and writing.

You may be wondering the content of my blogs. Most generally, I’ll be gathering data about nature, people, systems, cycles, economics, politics and government, psychology, the media, religion, motivation, leadership, team building. Within these topics, I’ll be emphasizing their significance to sustainable development. I aim to flesh out and provide structure to my knowledge of sustainability, as well as possible careers in sustainability. And finally, the more self interested focus: what next for me? How can I join the sustainability movement? Grad school? A move towards a career? A new exploration?

Well, that’s about it for now. I hope you’re intrigued enough to return next week for my first non-introductory article. I’ve posted some links on the side panels of books, websites, and videos I’ll be watching. I encourage you to check them out yourself.

Learn something new this week.

-Trevor Harrison