The Adventure we call Life

It is almost middle of June when I am writing my reflections of last months events. In May, quite a few people in my network passed away. Death has a way of connecting the people who are left behind, and I could see this was again the case. My Facebook feed blew up with stories of remembrance.

In May, a Finnish BASE jumper friend of mine Lassi-Pekka Ruuskanens (age 34) body was found beneath a cliff in Italy, he had been missing since November last year. Lassi Pekka had according to the BASE Fatality list +1200 BASE jumps and +6000 skydives. Back home in Finland, his life was celebrated and remembered within the flying community.

In Moab, Andly Lewis, 39 (Sketchy Andy), did his last jump as a tandem BASE jump, and left a whole community to moarn the loss of a legend. According to the BASE Fatality list, Andy had +2000 skydives, 5-6000 BASE jumps (1700 BASE tandems).

And in Durango my dear teacher Katrina Blair passed away from cancer at age 56. All fairly young people, who probably could have lived for another lifetime still. What is the common factor here?

The way I see it is that all these people embraced life to such an expansive and admirable level,that the impact and ripple effect they had on their communities will be remembered and felt for generations. The BASE jumpers living litterally so on the edge, walking a tight rope on the boarder of life and death for years, inspiring everyone who met them to live a little deeper, a little wilder, a little more. And Katrina with her deep rooted, wild presence with nature and plants, teaching her community about wild plants and how to live in harmony with nature. Truly embracing her teachings. Katrina would walk through the mountains between Durango and Telluride, only eating and harvesting what she could find in the forrest, and arrive at the Mushroom festival in Telluride with the most incredible mushrooms after spending 10-12 days in the forest alone. Talk about survival skills and bravery.

I met Katrina during my years living in Durango and did a wild weed/raw food program with her. Later on, I also worked at the Turtle lake refuge that Katrina founded. She could light up the room with her presence, and many times I thought to myself that "if that is how Earth angels look like, she must be one". I still find myself singing songs she taught me while I am out hiking.

Death is always surprising, even when we choose the extremesports we choose, knowing that death could be the outcome of it. Or choosing a lifestyle without chemical interventions. Both ways of living is living true to ones own values and integrity. I find that extremely admirable. And I am sure some would call it selfish.

These are the people that we remember though, the people that had an impact on our lives, the people that lived their unique potential to the fullest, whatever that was. I would rather my daughter remember me like that, I would rather inspire her and others in the same way too. Living my fullest, most unique expression of self. Even if it causes raised eyebrown here and there. Life is too grand to not embrace the adventure.

My way of honoring these souls is to carry that essence with me.

To embrace the adventure we call life.