When I started this project, SaftyThird, I was focused on delving into the fringes of our society and our individual lives, the places where the profound lessons hide and the most fulfilling experiences wait, but that many are too afraid to explore and find. We instead employ a margin of safety that serves as an adequate precaution…
A lot of the posts that I publish are inspired by small encounters that likely go unnoticed by the people involved. Sometimes they are formed by nothing more than a glimpse back at a friend on a hike, or looking down as I belay a partner up a pitch, and sometimes sitting and talking on…
Sometimes the best thing I can do is just walk away. I was talking to a friend recently about some decisions I made, and my actions caused harm. At the time I wasn't emotionally suited for the conversation, so I just grabbed my things and left. When my ideas are not formulated then I talk…
I just deleted 1,000 words that were aimed at you, but had nothing to do with anyone but myself. Seems like such a cheat. I'll never forget that phone call the day you died. It was the most devastating event of my life. While it's so far away, I think this is the first time…
"80 percent of life is just showing up." Woody Allen This was the main point emphasized by the instructor on my first day of college--it was even on the syllabus. Getting registered and taking my entrance exams was both humbling and humiliating. You know that joke about messing up right away so you don't have to worry about…
It's was late, and I packed my Subaru with a full double rack. I stuffed my sleeping bag, pad, tent, and clothes on one another on the floor in the back seat--on the drivers side. I arranged the gear and the rope and the packs and the shoes and the chalk in the trunk--on the drivers…
