To those of you who are unaware of Christopher McCandless' life & journey, here is a quick explanation to catch you up: Christopher McCandless was a graduate of Emory University who abandoned his possessions and gave his entire $24,000 savings to charity, hitchhiking to Alaska and living in the wilderness for four months. Chris shaped his life through the people he met along his journey and through the philosophers he diligently studied & read about, influencing the lives of others around the world and sparking the quest inside lost and bewildered souls to take on the path less traveled.
There are so many things that I admire about Mr. McCandless including his drive and ambition, but also his relationship towards nature. I find myself contemplating about my own mental endurance, hanging on to understand myself through the trees and evergreens. Christopher advocated the same kind of lifestyle by taking himself out of worldly temptations and dedicating his life towards solitude to grow in his spiritual relationship with his creator, whoever he considered this to be.
Many people consider Chris naive and hardheaded, taking Jack London and Thoreau's advice and liberally applying their words to shape his own sense of self-discipline and understanding. Even though Christopher died while four months into his Alaskan Odyssey, his journey is something we as humans can all learn from. We all deserve the opportunity to gain an inner peace and solitude even when the idea of a peaceful revitalization seems so out of reach. Christopher decided to take himself out of society to accomplish this task amongst other things. Though I am still not quite sure what to make of his travels (youthful innocence or arrogant ignorance), his life has forced me to reflect my own purpose, my own desires that I wish to fulfill. I do not expect to change to world by my own general wisdom or alter the way of living by living my own life by my own standards. All I wish is to find solace in living and speak my own truths, quietly but clearly. I may never experience my own Alaskan Odyssey or deny all contexts of society, but I do hope to create something self-sustaining, helping others to learn to live each day one at a time and take my own advice to savor these special moments of true contentment.
"I have had a happy life and thank the Lord, Goodbye and may God Bless All!" -Christopher McCandless
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