One Saturday morning I decided to take a hot soak to begin my weekend away from work.
As I was relaxing to the soothing sounds of Krishna Das, the phone rang. It was my Boss, “Alex, the latest numbers came out last night and the Board isn’t too pleased with our 3rd quarter. What can we do to increase our profit margins?”
I peacefully responded, “We need to broaden our portfolio and seek some changes.” So I created this colorful pie chart for him to understand what I meant.
My Boss reassured me “It's a rocky road out there during these rough economic times. We’ve got to be on top of our game!” I simply agreed.
“You better come in quick and get working on this,” my boss demanded. So I did. Ended up getting stuck in a traffic jam. I can’t stand traffic jams.
Finally reaching the office, I sat down at my desk and took in the view of all the city madness.
Too much coffee had me running to the bathroom, keeping me away from my work duties. On my way back, I got stuck at the water cooler listening and talking about all of life’s issues. I just agreed and nodded my head.
Wasn’t long before I needed to run upstairs to the HR Department to figure out whom we could lay off and where we could axe some ‘unnecessary’ spending. I was afraid someone would jump from the 10,593 floor when they heard the news so, we boarded up the windows.
Felling stressed, I went to the gym to let out some aggression and did some mountain climbers,
And swam laps in the pool.
On the way back to the office, I stopped by another water cooler but nobody there. Really, who works on a Saturday?
All this running around and working on ‘my weekend’ made me ponder life and what it all meant. “I could have done this and should have done that. What if I chose a different degree and went into nutrition or horticulture or been a professional athlete instead of business? What if I just left everything behind moved west and recreated myself?”
So I went to see the Orca for advice. With her outreached hands she inquired “Red or Blue Pill?”
Needless to say, I chose the Cobalt blue pill.
Which made me see the light! “Is it worth it, working my life away for the Machine 5-6 days a week, banking all my money, and giving up all my time to spreadsheets, financial reports and quarterly statements?"
Glad I wasn’t the only one working on a Saturday. But was I? Happiness in others misery just to justify my own issues doesn’t seem like an appropriate act of the human kind.
So I kicked up my feet and took a siesta. These long days are taxing.
On my way home, I took in the sights and sounds and realized just how beautiful life really is, no matter where you may be.
Amongst the traffic jams, city lights and skyscrapers, one thought would not leave my spinning mind, “Is today a good day to die?”
Because you never know when there will be a fire, a catastrophe or a loss of a job or loved to make you realize that life has passed you by and now, it's too late. But is it?
On the road less travelled, far away from the city lights and big business stress, life actually is much more peaceful.
So what are you waiting for? There's a world out there full of color, dreams and imagination! Jump on the road less travelled and see where LIFE takes you!
Alex Stoy is an adventure sports junkie who has been exploring the world for over 25 years. Stoy lives in Park City, UT and is always on the lookout for 'idiotic adventures' including running, yoga, ski mountaineering, canyoneering, mountain biking in random and off the beaten path locations like Argentina, Colombia, the desert southwest and Rocky Mountains of North America as well as interior Canada and Hawai'i.
Stoy's writings capture his life experiences through his own eyes and travels. His goal is to bring people the most intimate view of what it really is like travelling and adventuring in his shoes which are sometimes buried in a foot of Death Valley sand or fresh Wasatch Powder.