it won't kill you.

It was a Sunday morning like any other, except it changed my life.

We drove up highway 1, past the rock, through quiet coastal towns and tourist traps. We stopped for lunch, where Greg challenged me to a friendly game of Galaga. The 8-bit love coursed through me, my victory outwardly humble, inwardly self-congratulatory. A flaw to conquer, set aside for later.

Our destination was Salmon Creek, a waterful/hiking location north of Ragged Point. I didn't know what to expect, but nature certainly delivered. I climbed, I ran, I jumped, I became a grunting animal. Afterward, I read this in my journal:

At waterfall. This is amazing! We climbed around behind the falls, then above it. I smeared mud on my face - my gift from the mountain - and drank from the clear pool at the top of the falls. We climbed inside caves and under boulders; I felt lichen in my hands and God's creation all around me. I cleaned up man's scars on the land and my injuries came as welcome reminders of my restored humanity.

Growing up in a city environment, you're taught to drink only from approved sources, avoid fungus and bacteria, and in general fear nature. It's all a lie. I have never tasted water so good as the water from those falls. I touched the lichen, the dirt, the bacteria, the nature, and it didn't kill me.

It made me feel ... human.


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