Expanding our horizons one way or another | Ron Colone – Lompoc Record

Jeremiah Johnson was a U.S. Army veteran who, after fighting in the Mexican-American War, forsook civilization to live a life of isolation in the Rockies as a mountain man. The movie came out when I was 13 and I remember thinking, "I could live like that."

Five years later, I joined the Space Futures Society and the L-5 Society, two organizations dedicated to getting people living and working in outer space, and again, I thought, "I could do that; I could live in a space colony."

Now, I can hardly even imagine either of those things.

Maybe had my life gone in a different direction when I was much younger, then I couldve done it, but in the years that have passed Ive grown far too much in love with the Earth and with people, and the rituals that connect me to both, to willingly forsake them.

Ive grown exceedingly fond of gathering with friends, on porches and patios, in yards and in homes, restaurants, pubs, vineyards, or around a fire pit pretty much any setting will do sharing food and drink, talking and telling our stories.

Ive developed a penchant for long walks out on the trail, or along a country road or a city block with dear companions and close collaborators, talking about our plans, hopes, dreams, prayers, problems, big ideas and the littlest of details. I am devoted to these sessions as part of my daily meditative practice and exercise routine.

Ive acquired a profound appreciation for community, and for communities of all sorts social, spiritual, artistic and geographical and the ways we come together around common causes, concerns, interests and aspirations.

Ive found, and continue to find, abundant comfort, meaning, beauty, inspiration, strength, wisdom, wonder and excitement in the aspects of nature the accumulated knowledge of the rock formations; the resonant emotions oozing from the trees and arising from the lakes and oceans; the rhythms of the swaying grasses brushed by the breezes and blown by the wind; the moods of the weather, flowing narratives of the rivers and the mysteries in the desert; meditations on the beach; and connection with the creatures of the land, air and sea.

I would not wish to try and seek the same in some facsimile forged by human hands in manufactured environments.

I cherish the vestiges of earlier days and simpler times, like train rides and the dreams they carry, bookstores and the worlds they invite, the town square, the tavern, the oral history, the ceremonies and celebrations, initiations and the rites of passage.

I delight in learning the stories and telling the tales, tracing the trails and the traditions of my forbearers, and in learning the language and discerning the messages of my ancestors.

I could not love and grow andshare, develop, acquire and find and cherish and delight in all these things in isolation or in space. And so, the free-spirited, adventure-loving youth who could once envision riding out into the mountains or blasting off into space now seeks, rather, to extend the roots of my awareness deeper and more firmly into the earth and to make ever more meaningful connections with the people my family, friends and allies. Instead of extending out away from all these things, I extend further into and diffuse throughout my earthly experience to find greater understanding, compassion, enjoyment, fulfillment and benefit.

My hope is that we (or our descendants) do not have to unwillingly forsake these things; that we do not get displaced from our towns and cities, our villages or even the surface of our planet on account of the denial, disregard and disrespect of our ecosystem and the natural forces and resources that sustain life on Earth.

I leave the investigation of uncharted territories to the explorers, as I strive for deeper insights and to broaden my horizons here at home.

It occurred to me, right away, that the crawling creature was a messenger, and I made a mental note to later look up the meaning of tarantulas ...

Suppose, for the last 25 years, in an effort to educate yourself, youve made a point of reading and researching and seeking out information on various health and medical conditions that you or a loved one have had to deal with...

This past week marked one year since everything started shutting down on a mass scale due to COVID-19. I know because I was emceeing a music f

In the old days, like in the first century B.C. and again in the 16th century (A.D. or C.E.) they used to change the calendar when it didnt m

Rain is Gods gift to poets. I say that not because its so beautiful or sweetly natural or dramatic or gentle, as the case may be; and neithe

Call it rooting for the underdog, fighting for those who have been marginalized or discriminated against, or speaking out for the cause of jus

When I had an office and a desk at the newspaper building, and I would go in to do work from there, unlike now when everything is sent electro

Maybe its because our holidays have been taken away from us this year that some of us feel its even more important than ever to celebrate th

I was driving over the Pass in the early morning light, and Bob Marley came on the radio. The song was Rat Race, from the Rastaman Vibration

Sometimes when you eliminate the distractions and the trimmings, you can get down to the real meat and potatoes, or maybe just the potatoes if

A few years ago, it was the music stars: Bowie, Prince, Glenn Frey, Leonard Cohen, George Martin, Scotty Moore, Merle Haggard, Paul Kantner an

Four years ago, at this same time, I wrote a column five days before the election knowing it wouldnt come out until two days after the el

I dont know, maybe its because Ive been reading these great epic novels lately, which follow a group of close comrades and crisscrossing fr

My gal said, "I liked it better when we didnt know peoples politics." She was referring to the ways in which some people make it known on so

Occasionally I like to scan through a list of odds-and-ends trivia that appears on a website I sometimes visit. I was doing so today, when I c

I was in the market, refilling my water jugs, gloves on as they have been for the past month whenever I go out in public. Most of the people a

I dont know if that was normal or an unusually high or low week for me, but I do know Americans spend, on average, five hours, 24 minutes a d

There are certain days, certain moments, certain events embedded so deeply and that stick out so vividly in memory theyre always right there

There was this kid on my basketball team when I was growing up, and boy, could he shoot free throws.

Theres this dude who haunts my dreams. Actually, its not in my dreams where he haunts me but on the street, walking around town.

Good friends are like trampolines. Theyre there to catch you when you fall, then they bounce you back up again. They have enough give in them

Iwas walking up to the corner, and there was a car stopped in the street next to me, waiting to make a right turn. I was still probably 20 yar

They wanted balloons for the celebration, but the guy at the balloon store said they couldnt get us a helium tank because theres a shortage

One of the best ones Ive heard in a while comes from University of Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh Go Blue! who instructs his player

As the sportswriter for the newspaper, I was on assignment to cover the first professional boxing event at our local casino, and what an event

Steve Bannon told President Trump to throw some haymakers. As a boxing and hockey fan, I knew what he meant.

As I was gearing up for my trip, knowing I was headed for hot and humid weather, I decided to buy a couple of white T-shirts to help control t

One of my memories from grade school days was taking chalkboard erasers down to the janitors room, and putting them on the bench-mounted vacu

For at least the last four decades, obesity rates have risen steadily in the United States. Today, 28 percent of Americans are classified as o

Im writing this on my 55th birthday, while reading an article in Science Daily that tells how a man reacts to hassles between the ages of 55

It seemed to me there were far fewer Christmas lights on display this year than any year I can remember. It struck me as I was driving, and ov

Theres an old Sufi saying: Even if it makes you happy, at the mint, fools gold will be identified. That came to mind this afternoon, as I

When I was little, maybe in junior high, I read an interview with Eric Clapton in which the interviewer asked what he thought about people cal

In a poll, executives rated creativity as the single most important trait for success in business. Yet, those same people who said creativity

Sam Cooke sang, "Change is gonna come." Ghandi said, "Be the change you want to see," and Warhol wrote, "They say times change, but you actual

I love words. I love the sound, the rhythm, the pictures and the emotions they can evoke.

I woke up the other morning and said to my gal, we need to find a way to fit living into our lives.

There was a story I did about 15 years ago, having to do with cell phones and the possible long-term effects caused by radiation emitted from

From the time I was 9 years old, I knew Id leave my home state of Michigan and move to California. I didnt know when or how long Id end up

It takes power to do or to accomplish anything, whether its lifting up a weight, driving the car down to the corner store, or standing up for

It was an article about how free choice does not result in happiness. It talked about how in American culture and in our philosophy of democra

In one of my favorite all-time books, a Muslim, a Christian and a Jew play a remarkable game of poker in the back room of an antiquities shop

Iwas getting out of my truck, and the door handle broke off in my hand. For a second, I thought I was going to have to get out on the passenge

Ive been watching the coverage on the news about whether or not the federal government should make available $25 billion to bail out the auto

Iwas listening to my friend describe a series of experiences hes had with a gray fox, which have taken place now over a number of years, and

The first call came in at about 6 p.m. from a friend in South Carolina, and over the next 18 hours several more calls from all over the countr

You know when you cant get a song out of your mind? You find yourself singing it, over and over, in all the different settings you move throu

One thing I appreciate about scientists is that theyre willing to let reality shape their beliefs rather than vice versa. If, for instance, t

It was just an empty field of dry grass, not a tree or a bush in sight. Not a table or a bench, nothing that might serve as a prop for play, b

Is there no end to the enlightening revelations that come our way in the national news? Like today, I read an article that said poverty and pu

Maybe at first I had some grand notion of doing it all in one continuous expedition, but considering my life, my family, and the need for empl

"Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today." Ben Franklin

Iwas skimming through the weekly science and technology report, and I read this little teaser sentence in a shaded box that said, When pain b

Read more:
Expanding our horizons one way or another | Ron Colone - Lompoc Record