Wednesday, September 9, 2020

Treasure Hunt...

 


Sorry it has been so long since my last Blog post, friends. I last posted on August 21, just after coming off of a shorter-than-normal vacation, and two days before I turned 66. That's it--I'll blame it on getting old! No, really, I'll bet you don't recognize the man pictured above, do you? I didn't either, but let me fill you in.

His name is Forrest Fenn. He's currently in the news because he just died at 90. He was a self-styled adventurer and art collector, who also got into collecting other treasures, including coins and gold. Over a decade ago, he was diagnosed with cancer, and after treatment, he used his personal rejuvenation to "remake" himself, and began doing things he had never done before, and going places he had never been. About that time, he wrote his autobiography entitled "The Thrill of the Chase." Turns out, he buried a "treasure" of cold, coins, and other collectables worth at least a million dollars somewhere in the Rocky Mountains, and salted his book with clues as to where it was. It's estimated that over 350,000 people read his book and went on adventurous treks through the Rocky Mountains, trying to find the riches. Unfortunately, some of those souls were not experienced at such man vs. nature challenges, and five actually died while searching. That's the bad news.

The good news is that on June 27 of this year, an anonymous Fenn-finder found the booty, and thankfully, Forrest Fenn was still around to see it. But there is better news. Fenn's challenge greatly broadened the lives and interests of a majority of the remaining 349,995 who survived the search and learned to love hiking, climbing, kayaking rivers, and reveling in the beauty of the Rocky Mountains. As you can tell from the title of Fenn's personal story, "The Thrill of the Chase," this is the lesson he was hoping to teach by hiding the treasure.

Jesus told a parable about a man who finds a treasure buried on a plot of land. He so wants to possess the treasure that he goes and buys the plot of land so the treasure can be legally his. Fenn's searchers "bought the land"--they discovered the wonders (and some, the dangers) of nature. A number of them have written stories and articles about how enriched they have become by going on the treasure hunt.

Forrest Fenn kind of "pulled a Jesus" on his readers, launching them on the trip of a lifetime. We don't know all of their stories, but obviously many of them left what was normal, or comfortable, or secure, and launched out to find a financial treasure, uncovering instead a new lease on life, beauty, and taxing experiences that jazzed them up with a whole new vision of what living is about. They met new people--including in many cases other treasure hunters--and learned to sleep under the stars. Some even quit their jobs to do a "Come and follow me" act.

OK, I'm 66 and contemplating retirement next year. I've loved my work as a "professional disciple," but am not a very adventurous soul, beyond my spiritual journey and penchant for reading and writing. In these, I may be a legend in my own mind, as they say, but at least I've tried to think--and preach--outside the box a bit. But when it comes to "comfort level," I've often said that my idea of roughing it is the Red Roof Inn instead of a Ramada. I'm generally not the outdoorsy type (stop it, those of you who know me, I can hear you laughing!). When I shared a video of my son's incredible hiking, kayaking, and climbing, 400-plus-mile trek along the "lost coast" of Alaska with his life partner, everyone who viewed it looked at me and asked, "Where did HE come from?" 

My wife persuaded me to join her in getting into bicycling a few years ago. We're doing more of that, now. My daughter and her family like to hike, and on our recent vacation with them, they had us on both a hike and bike trail ride. I bought a new telescope, and one night we stayed up way past the grands' bedtime so we could set it up and view the late-rising moon, as well as a couple of planets. Every day, as I drive through North Park on my way to the church, I find myself drawn to wanting to spend more time there in retirement, hiking, walking with Dara, and maybe even fishing. As I think I mentioned in an earlier blog, at his request, I took a very young Evan on a few fishing trips, and thoroughly enjoyed it! The thing that spoiled it was actually catching a fish--ruined the whole "peaceful" thing, as that was violent, and disgusting (having to de-hook the fish without touching it because those things feel weird, and then gently kicking it back into the water). 

When the kids were little, we bought a used tent camper and even tried camping, because I read an article that families that the common denominator in families that maintained tight relationships over the years was that they went camping. It was fun, actually, but when it became clear that we were all more enamored with visiting historical, scientific, and artistic venues, the camper gave way to just the car and decent hotels. Also, Dara didn't like that she had to do all of the cooking (remember, that's another thing I'm just learning, as preparation for retirement). But now, even camping is taking on a slight lure. Very slight. But a lure. It would seem that the "buried treasure" of retirement has already begun to alter my thinking.

So, what does this have to do with Forrest Fenn, Jesus, and you? Well, lesson one is: don't wait until retirement to try some things "out of the box" for you, and take a few steps outside your comfort zone. And, if like me you did wait, so what? Do it now! Don't let the fact that there are snakes and ticks in the woods keep you from taking a hike. (OK, I'll admit, now I'm preaching to myself...) Read an article or a book about something interesting, and then go investigate!

And that's lesson two: there are treasures out there! People, places, experiences, mission opportunities, lots of stuff to learn about, or see, or find--all of it waiting to be discovered. When Jesus said, "Come, follow me," twelve people took him up on it. My son tells me that he and Shannon may have only been the 11th and 12th persons to go on the "lost coast" hike they did. And while over 350,000 went on the hunt for the pot-o-gold old Forrest planted, most of them found something far richer than the contents of his treasure chest. Engaged with passion, curiosity, and faith-seeking-understanding, life really IS a treasure hunt! Let's get going, Yinz! Shalom!

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