The Vision

MY JOURNEY FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM TO BECOMING FREE...                                                                    

3rd Tour Iraq

Backbone of my life

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After many years of lessons, experiences and connections in this world of so much madness and so much beauty, I have come to know my calling..

2 Year Transformation

         It's hard to believe 10 years has passed since I left "the friendly village" of Harrison, Maine to serve our country in the United States Marine Corps. In hindsight, I was just a kid who knew nothing and was about to experience some of the worst hatred mankind has to offer. During my tours to Afghanistan and Iraq, the destruction I would witness and the sadness in the eyes of men, woman and children, I will carry with me forever. Although I couldn't understand their language very well, the message in their eyes was loud and clear, "please no more of this killing, no more living in fear, we are just here, we want to live, we want to be happy and live in peace" they would say. In these times I often felt helpless and under my oath to our country there was nothing I could do about it...for 8 years this weighed heavy on me. I'd tell myself,  "It must be possible for mankind to live a more peaceful existence, our place on this earth is far too short for all this bitterness and hostility" so the day upon my honorable discharge this became my new mission.

         First, there was a desire to experience the raw freedom I 'believed" I had been fighting for for all those years. Letting go of everything, the judgement of my past and expectations of my future, living in each moment as I soon discovered that's all we can really be sure of. With an open heart, mind and spirit I did just that and it began with a 12,000 mile journey in my VW bus that would cover 24 states over the next 3 months. Stopping at every national park and monument along the way I began to witness so much beauty in the natural world we live in. I was also slowly becoming aware of the conscious being within this body, I was meeting my true self for the first time. Able to be 100% ME, pure and true I felt a connection with these amazing places and wonderful people by the hundreds all over the country, all wanting the same thing, my visions of a more peaceful existence started to become reality.

   

          Upon my return from the road, I had felt refreshed and vibrant but it was only a taste that left me longing for more. Eager to continue on this new path, I soon found myself on a Greyhound bus taking me to Amicalola Falls State Park in North Western Georgia. This was the beginning of the 2,184 mile trail that covers the Appalachian mountain range from Georgia to Maine and I was going to walk home. The connections to everything and everyone all around me along the way was profound and very surreal. Hundreds of "coincidences" in such a short period of time led me to know there is no such thing as coincidence. Everywhere and everyone our path crosses is for a reason and with certainty there are lessons to be learned. Just as I discovered on the road yet somehow on a deeper level as I was on foot, 25lbs on my back, coexisting with nature and other hikers all with common intentions. On this journey I realized that everything we have ever needed is right in front of us, it has always been here, it's been all around us this entire time.. On September 18th 2012 (my 28th birthday) 3,301 days from when I was just a
kid leaving home for the Marines and 170 days after I stepped foot on the Appalachian trail in Georgia, I had made the summit of Mt. Katahdin in Maine. A wave of emotions from the last 28 years swept over me, I couldn't see anything except the sign I was holding onto as I nearly collapsed. I was so incredibly grateful for this existence and the gift of life. I had now experienced levels of freedom, happiness and peace that before I didn't know possible. I was reborn 28 years later to the day and felt awake for the first time in my life. In that moment on top of the highest mountain in Maine my thoughts drifted back to the eyes that would speak to me, "please no more of this killing, no more living in fear, we are just here, we want to live, we want to be happy and live in peace." Well, I've experienced that it is possible and now there IS something I can do about it.

       
         Viewing the world through fresh eyes, the possibility of living life without hate, stresses or drama and filled with an abundance of enjoyment, love and oneness had been confirmed. Now all there was to do is figure out a way to maintain this way of life, spreading it to as many people as possible within this short period of time I have left on this earth. So here is the vision, "The Human-Nature Hostel & Wilderness Guided EDventures" - My dream is to build a space in the western Maine mountains for people from all walks of life to come and make real connections, teach, learn, laugh and love life together. I want people to wake up to the fact that it is "human nature" to live this way and experience the deep rooted connection to everything that has always been there. The yearlong wilderness survival school I am going to attend at the end of August 2013 will give me all the knowledge and wisdom to fulfill this dream. My Registered Maine guide license will allow me to offer many programs that will benefit everyone, outdoor enthusiasts, travelers, youth, veterans and wounded warriors. I have only begun to truly understand that we are spiritual beings of energy and light, connected to it all. We must live in harmony with one another, with nature and within the natural cycles of all living things in order to find peace and happiness. I have often asked myself "how can one person change the world?" The answer I discovered is this; one person can't change the world, all one can do is live every moment with an open heart, mind and spirit. It's so easy to be kind and giving, with positive energy, the purest intentions and expectations of nothing in return. It's contagious and will spread like wild fire, so many doors will open and the world as you know it will begin to change, I can promise you. These are not my beliefs, these are things that I have come to know to be true. "How do I know?" you might ask... Well, let me ask you this, "when you see the color green, do you believe it's green or do you know it's green? If you burn yourself, do you believe the fire was hot or do you know it was hot? When eating a lemon, do you believe it was sour or do you know? Hearing a dog bark, do you believe it was a dog or do you know? When smelling a fresh pine forest do you believe or do you know? If you experience an emotion such as excitement, sadness, fear or happiness do you believe what you felt or do you know what you felt? This is how I "know", from experience and following my bliss with an open heart, mind and spirit. Setting fourth with the purest intentions, expecting nothing in return. Peace and happiness has not only flowed into my life but spread to the lives around me. I cannot explain this in a way for you to understand, you must experience it for yourself.

        This space will soon become reality and I look forward to sharing the vision with each and every one of you...remember that we all have an effect on each persons path we cross so keep smiling and pass it on : )

 

AT 2012 Western Maine Mountains

“There is no greater calling than to serve your fellow men. There is no greater contribution than to help the weak. There is no greater satisfaction than to have done it well.”

                                                                                                                                 -Walter Reuther