Alaska...fuck yeah! Part 3

“There’s a land where the mountains are nameless, and the rivers all run God knows where, there are lives that are erring and aimless. And deaths that just hang by a hair, there are hardships that nobody reckons; there are valleys unpeopled and still. There’s a land-oh it beckons and beckons, and I want to go back and I will.”
~~Robert Service

There's something about this place that gets in people's blood. It makes them never want to leave, and if they do, it makes them want to come back. At least that's what everyone I've met has been telling me. There's no doubt in my mind that I will make it back to AK...it's just a matter of time. Oh yes, I will be back.

Although I consider myself to be a fairly articulate person in describing what I think and feel, I just can't explain what, exactly, it is about AK that makes people never want to leave. I guess there's just a feeling you get when you're here. It's part awe at the unbelievable landscape. It's part relaxation in the midst of people who adhere to a relatively simple lifestyle. It's part disbelief that you're actually here...in this place that seems nothing like the rest of the lower 48--it seems like I should need my passport to get here. It's part humility in realizing that nature and the world are so much bigger than oneself. And the rest is something that is perhaps unknowable.

My friend B has been such a good sport at putting up with my touristy desire to take a picture of absolutely everything. (I think I have taken 160+ pictures on this trip!) However, one thing that he said to me about pictures has stuck. On our adventures to Homer, AK, he described how one of his friends said that he had stopped taking pictures of scenery or life events because he wanted to keep them only as mental images. He wanted to rely only on his memory to capture the essence of various life moments and that pictures would pale in comparison to the richness his memory could preserve. Although I didn't really adhere to this sentiment on my trip, this idea has stuck with me. As I look back on my pictures from this trip, I realize that no picture (no matter how many megapixels it has) can capture the feeling I had in each of those moments. Sure, the picture can capture it as a reference point to jog my memory in the future, but I don't want to rely on the megapixels to recreate the moments I've had in AK. There will never be a way to recreate these moments, these overwhelming feelings of awe, joy, and serenity. There is no way to recreate the feeling of wind and sun on my face 2,000 ft up a mountain, the sounds of nature in the dead of night (or of the horse galloping around our tent!), or the smell of trees or melting snow in AK. Perhaps I shouldn't even try; to do so would cheapen them. Instead, maybe I can relive these moments from time to time...relive a little of AK in my daily life. I have no doubt that there's a little AK in my blood now, and it's only a matter of time before it calls me back...

Alaska...fuck yeah!

Alaska...fuck yeah! Part 2

My Alaska trip has also been a spiritual awakening because it has been a source of inspiration...a force that has made me contemplate my own life in some new and unique ways. The zeitgeist of this trip has been the idea of "living in community" and cultivating the people around me and the relationships I have with them. All aspects of this trip have highlighted the beauty of relationships and how fulfilling they can be in my life.

I started thinking about the idea of community during the flight out to AK because I brought a book to read called "Faith and feminism: A holy alliance." This book uses the lives of 5 feminist women of faith to demonstrate how religious faith and feminism are not at odds with each other, contrary to what many people think. Rather, the book concludes, "religion and feminism are different expressions of the same impulse toward making life more just and whole." A core component of achieving "wholeness" in one's life is to be in relationships with others. Just as money is the currency of our economy, relationships are the currency of peace and overall well-being in our lives. This is such a simple conclusion, but one that is somewhat difficult to implement, I think. In my own life, I think that the academic lifestyle has pulled me from a more community- and relationship-oriented lifestyle to one in which I focus on my own achievements, my own well-being...at the expense of thinking of others. On the one hand, my natural inclination is to be relationship-oriented because I have experienced such a sense of purpose and inspiration in my relationships with the many amazing people in my life. However, on the other hand, given my view that relational interdependence contributes to the perpetuation of sexism and inequality in the world [there will be more on this later, I'm sure], I struggle with finding the appropriate balance between being relationally-oriented while also being objective about how this relational interdependence may serve to disadvantage myself and all women. What this book makes clear, however, is that both my faith and my feminist views call me to exist in community with others...to enhance myself and the well-being of those in the world around me by cultivating the relationships in my life.

I have sensed the power of relationships and being in community with others in many aspects of my time in AK. My talk and the discussions that ensued at the University of Alaska were nothing short of inspiring. One of the things I love most about academics is the power of ideas to bring people together. The excitement and generosity of the UAA faculty and students was palpable and they renewed my excitement for my own work, for collaborating with others, and for connecting with others over ideas.

A powerful source of inspiration has also been in witnessing my friend B and his group of friends in Anchorage. B moved to Anchorage after we graduated college so that he could complete the Jesuit Volunteer Corps (like Americorps, but with a spiritual component). As a JV, he lived in community with other volunteers for a year, while he served as a social worker at a local shelter offering services for the homeless (www.beanscafe.org). He is a living example of how choosing to live in community with others--and be intimately connected with all people of one's community--can be a life-changing experience. There is a sense of authenticity, peace, and purpose in B and his friends that you cannot help but notice and be drawn to. I am so lucky to have B in my life because he is not only a great friend, but he is also a source of inspiration. Although I may not choose to dedicate myself to service and community in the same way as he has, I can certainly implement pieces of his life and purpose into my own. His life is inspiring to me, but his friendship is also inspiring. Our friendship is a perfect example of how we can continue to connect in completely different contexts and phases of our life. We first connected as involved members of our college community, but most of our interactions involved sharing beer, study sessions, and the occasional insight about life. But now, although the Franzia and beer are gone (for the most part) and we live very different lives, we can continue to connect on multiple levels and about a variety of topics because we view our friendship as having a life of its own. Our friendship is a living entity of sorts...it is malleable, but needs some cultivation from time to time. We may live totally different lives now, but I love that we can re-connect so many years later and have it feel as though no time has passed. I cherish this friendship, and it inspires me to cultivate other relationships in my life even more.

Alaska...fuck yeah!