In this Blog, I share the inspirations that I have experienced while hiking at St. Mountain Park, St. Mountain, Georgia USA.
Recently, I was asked by the Education Department of St. Mountain Park (www.stonemountainpark.org) to conduct a series of short interviews of people who hike the mountain. I randomly selected approximately 250 people that I met while hiking and I simply asked them to answer a simple question; Why do you Hike St. Mountain? This Blog is about their answers.
A couple of years ago, I met Bill and Bob, Hikers who usually hike up in the middle of the day. They are the type of guys who are committed to making a difference, no matter how large or small that difference is.
They notice how many of the plastic bottles , used for drinking water, were either thrown on the ground along the walk-up trail, or were simply deposited into the regular trash cans and not recycled.
Instead of accepting conditions as they were and maintaining their busy lives and equally busy schedules running Main Street Marketings in Tucker and a Graphic Design company in Decatur (BobMayer.com), these two brothers decided to do something about the problem. They decided to make a difference. They don't get anything for doing this. They have to be responsible for bringing the bottles down, once the barrels are filled. They simply saw a problem and decided to 'make a difference'.
As you walk up the trail now, you will notice that there are two(2) different types of trash (cans) dispensers. The dark green (metal) barrels are for your regular trash and debris. The light green one (see photo on left) is only for empty plastic bottles....
On any given day, you will find, Bob, Bill and Jim (Another St. Mt. regular) collecting the saved bottles and taking them down to the bottom for recycling. Over the past couple of years I have seen a significant decrease in the number of plastic bottles that used to litter the trail. This fact can be directly attributed to the decision that the Mayer Brothers made to 'Make a Difference'!
What problem have you noticed? How are you making the planet a little better, cleaner? What are you doing to make a difference? Thanks Bob, Bill and Jim!
Two days ago, on Tuesday Morning, I was having a particularly powerful day hiking. It should be noted that a regular day of hiking at St. Mountain (GA) is usually a pretty powerful experience for me. It is how I generally begin my day. It is a combination of spiritual experience, physical exercise and social experiment and it usually leaves me in complete 'awe' of just how good my life is and what a wonderful place St. Mountain Park is! (I get to come here everyday and do this!) Life is Good........
On this particular day, I must have meet 5 or 6 Hikers, whom I had not yet met or had not seen in some time. Among the people that I met, for the first time, were two(2) wonderful women , Thelma and Louise, who had been the best of friends for 50 years...(Think about that for a moment, best of friends for 50 years!) Most people do maintain friendships for 50 days..... These two were taking the time to meet up and travel to special places together. This has become an annual event for them; they meet up someplace and hang out together for a few weeks.
Having both reached the age of retirement, they were able to take leave of their spouses and children and simply enjoy the 50 year old friendship.
We met as I was preparing to take a photo of two other people that I had not seen in a while, Elisha K. and her daughter. As they walked by, they excused themselves from interrupting my shot.
When I finally caught up with them to get a sense of 'Why they were Hiking St. Mountain', I discovered that they were, in fact, doing the 'Thelma and Louise' road trip and that they were long time friends. I also learned that one lived in California and the other lived on the East Coast and that they met up somewhere in the Midwest and drove to Atlanta; stopping along with way to hike and sightsee and visit interesting places. St. Mountain Park was one of those interesting places to go and Hike!
One of the things that I observed as we walked and talked is that they were two people who were clearly comfortable with themselves and with each other. There was a certain authenticity about the both of them. One was a retired Lawyer who worked in the area of Land Use and Planning; the other a former Educator who is also retired and relatively carefree.
I maintain this belief that I developed after reading 'The Celestine Prophecy' by James Redfield; Everyone you meet has a message for you or you have a message for them! My message from meeting Thelma and friend of 50 years..........Become the kind of person who you would like to have around for 50 years or more!
James E., (Mr. James) is a Southern Gentleman whom I met walking up the Mountain one day last Summer. For the most part, he is most unassuming and walks alone, everyday. On the day when we met, I asked Mr. James the same question that I asked everyone else; 'Why do you Hike St. Mountain'?
After some initial introductory comments, He went on to tell me a lot more than I ever imagined that I would learn from this unassuming Southern Gentleman.
First of all, the lesson I got from Mr. James was that of 'The Power of Giving'. That power, to accomplish virtually anything that one wants in life, is available through the simple 'Act' and 'Power' of Giving.
As he shared, he has been 'Hiking' at St. Mountain for many, many years,almost 65 years! He actually moved from the downtown area of Atlanta ,about 23 years ago, so that he could 'be closer to the mountain'! That move facilitated his need to hike the mountain daily. You see, he has had a life long love affair with the mountain and has been coming here to hike since he was a 'young man'.
Before he moved out here, near the Mountain, he lived a life of a typical successful Atlanta (Southern) businessman. He had a comfortable income, a membership in one of the city's elite country clubs (Cherokee County Club), a wonderful family, (wife and grown children), money in the bank and a relatively good life.
On day, his wife abruptly informed him that , after 25 plus years of marriage, she wanted a divorce. His immediate reaction was one of 'shock and awe', followed quickly by anger. As is the case with most people, men in particular, this perceived 'loss of control' threatened his entire way of life.
It was at this pivotal time in his life that he made a decision that would change his life henceforth. He decided to practice the well-known and oft-stated bibical principal 'Give and It Shall Be Given Unto You'; references to which can be found in many places in the New Testament, including 'The Book of James'. http://scripturetext.com/luke/6-38.htm
Well, instead of contesting the divorce and paying the otherwise high legal costs and creating the anomosity which was sure to follow, Mr. James did an extra-ordinary thing. He gave his then wife, and now ex-wife, everything that he owned! Everything!
His thinking was that there was no better time than the present to practice what he had heard preached so many times in the past and he was ready for something transformational to happen in his life. ( His wife and her lawyer thought Mr. James had taken leave of his senses, but they eventually accepted the terms and signed the agreement.)
Mr. James then decided that he would go to India and live a Monastic life by taking up studies and living in an Ashram. It was during this time in India that he really committed himself to living the life that he felt that he was sent here to live......................... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashram
Upon his return to the U.S., after a couple of years studying in India, he decided that he and some associates would go into the Health Food business. They began what was a food co-op, which quickly grew and needed to be expanded. When they began looking for space for an actual store, he was astounded by an offer from a merchant he encountered; the merchant offered to give him his store! When he eventually overcame the shock and surprise of the merchant's offer, he realized that his Principal was at work again!
Give and It Shall be Given Unto You!
Over a period of several years, he and his partners eventually built a chain of Health Food Stores all over the U.S.; from the West Coast to the East Coast and including a distribution center. Many of the stores were actually (literally) given to them! Mr. James eventually bought out his partners and he now owns and operates the last of the stores. That store is here in the Atlanta area, near Emory University.
Mr. James attributes his success in the Health Food Business and in Life to the practice of the principal; Give and It Shall be Given Unto You...............................
Ken Brown is perhaps the most interesting and competitive of all of the Hikers that I have met in the 2 years or so that I have been compiling this Journal. He is 66 years old and is as much a 'Health Nut' as any one I have ever met.
He regularly participates in 10K races, Triathalons and Marathons and almost any other competitive event he sees.
On any given day, he might run up St. Mountain 4 or 5 times to warm up. He regularly wins his age group and almost any event that he enters!
A former Tree Contractor and current Landscaper and Lawn Contractor, Ken is always in superb physical condition because he refuses to ever allow himself to become lazy or complacent.
My name is G.D. Stanford, CCIM and I have been hiking St. Mountain (Ga) on a daily basis for the better part of the last 2.5 years. In fact, I recently so that I could be closer to ;The Mountain' and make the process of hiking there an easier one! In short, I have become addicted to the experience..
A couple of years ago, I met Bill and Bob, Hikers who usually hike up in the middle of the day. They are the type of guys who are committed to making a difference, no matter how large or small that difference is.
