(stale posting alert: I drafted this back in November 09 and never published it.. so here it is)
Last Thursday I took a bike ride through Brown County State Park. They have the best trail system around! There's nothing like the thrill of flying down a hill, and nothing like the sense of accomplishment after you've busted your butt to get back up. On this trip the experience was more about the scenery. Indiana is known for its colorful fall, and with the trails covered in leaves I was sure to slow my pace down a bit and enjoy the views some more.
After riding down the north tower loop and starting the aynes loop, I stopped at an old cabin foundation along the trail. This sits in the bottom of a ravine with a nice flowing creek alongside. At one time this was a 2-room cabin, with only the foundation and 2 fireplaces remaining today. I don't know if it was a state park building or homestead, but I assume it was the latter given the number of homestead foundations around this area. At any rate, its a popular place to stop and take a break along the trail.
The picture from my phone does not do the scene justice.. It was an early crisp morning, with the sun rising, the ground still wet from rain a day ago, and the trees still had plenty of colorful leaves on them. I sat down with a powerbar, turned my music off, and sat to ponder life for a while. These are the kinds of moments I would make time for as a teenager but somehow life has done nothing but speed up since.
As I readied myself to hit the trail again, I turned my ipod back on and skipped to the next song. It fed me “Land of Confusion” by Genesis. I've always felt that the lyrics and video were quite deep and meaningful (both for its time in the cold war and today) so I sat and listened before hopping back on the bike:
There's too many men, too many people, making too many problems.. and not much love to go around. Can't you see this is a land of confusion
Sadly if we watch the news it seems that Genesis was spot-on, and the pattern of war and hardships does not seem to be going away in my lifetime. But, they remind us that we each have our own circle of influence and ways in which we can make the world better:
This is the world we live in, and these are the hands we're given. Use them and let's start trying.. to make it a place worth living in.
Life is good! We all need to spend a little time in the beauty of the outdoors and appreciate what we have been given. It puts things into perspective. Take a moment in your own life to make this a place worth living in.. peacefully.