Not enough people know how to think and live for themselves, on their own terms. Perhaps it is the culture we are raised in where we are expected to sit quietly and listen to teachers lecture us on what to do and how to do it. Perhaps it is because parents preach college and careers over dreaming big and pursuing our wildest far-fetched fantasies. Perhaps it is simply because obediently following is much easier than a life of questioning everything and chasing our dreams and desired lifestyle with a wildly unrelenting passion.
I spent much of my life pursuing an unambitious career and only dreaming of a life filled with joy and pleasure, peacefulness in wilderness. My lifestyle change began when I stumbled upon a quote from Frank Zappa. He said that “If you end up with a boring miserable life because you listened to your mom, your dad, your teacher, your priest, or some guy on television telling you how to do your shit, then you deserve it.” Upon reading this quote I began to rethink everything I had previously been told.
For the first time I began thinking of breaking free from the norm in favor of an alternative lifestyle. I decided to begin evaluating and implementing Zappa’s quote for liberated freedom, though I still didn’t know what that looked like.
Inspired by the Disney-Pixar movie “Up,” I set out to find Paradise Falls, my own version of the special place depicted in the film. I attempted to find a place of perfect harmony where my mind was at ease and I felt free in body, mind, and spirit. I performed research to form my idea of this previously unimaginable life of freedom and independence. I took the words of Henry David Thoreau who wrote, “This spending of the best part of one’s life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of it reminds me of the Englishman who went to India to make a fortune first, in order that he might return to England and live the life of a poet. He should have gone up garret at once.” With that in mind I began plans to denounce my career path and attempted to discover something I was passionate about. I was also inspired by Chris McCandless who wrote that you should “make a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things which you may previously never have thought of doing or been too hesitant to attempt.” He writes that many people live in “unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism” which is most damaging to the adventurous spirit. With this I knew it was time for a radical change in my lifestyle for the sake of my sense of freedom, independence, and personal satisfaction.
I began reading about vagabonding thinking about backpacking around America (and beyond). But I soon realized that a radical change did not command recklessness. After much deliberation I decided I needed to write it out, so I developed my own manifesto. The goal was to create some kind of declaration of life, freedom, and independence that would define my sense of living according to my own definition of happiness.
Having written my own life’s manifesto I suddenly felt entitled like I finally had documented permission to redefine life so it better fit my interests and desires. After many years of traveling and exploring I finally discovered my Paradise Falls. It is being out on a river or lake in beautiful Central Oregon fly fishing. There are many great lakes and rivers in this part of the country that offer a sense of freedom and escapism. There is nothing better than being in my kayak paddling around in peace and solitude on a Cascade Lake with beautiful snowcapped mountains in the backdrop or standing in the middle of the Deschutes River with beautiful rainbow trout rising as they approach me. But the greatest place of independence and freedom is the beautiful and mighty Crooked River which is the best kept secret in Central Oregon. It is peaceful and serene. You can spend an entire day in the river without being disrupted by anything but the sounds of nature. Standing in the middle of the river surrounded by beautiful canyon walls, the echo of eagles feeding their young in a tree to your right, an occasional elk coming nearby for a drink of water, and the interaction and connection with fish rising up from the depths of the water is as free and independent of a feeling that I know. This where I belong. This is where I find the greatest sense of freedom and joy.
Thank you for reading and commenting. Please enter the Independence Travel Writing competition and tell your story.
