Chris McCandless, in his letter to his friend Ron Franz, shared profound advice that has always resonated with me. This letter, published in Jon Krakauer’s 1996 book Into the Wild, contains a passage that just hits me and it suits this sub perfectly:
“I’d like to repeat the advice I gave you before, in that I think you really should make a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things which you may previously never have thought of doing, or been to hesitant to attempt. So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun. If you want to get more out of life, Ron, you must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of life that will at first appear to you to be crazy. But once you become accustomed to such a life you will see it’s full meaning and its incredible beauty. And so, Ron, in short, get out of Salton City and hi the Road. I guarantee you will be very glad you did.”