Steve Ramirez's Blog, page 10

Seasonable Angler

Once again I am honored to have another of my essays in the Seasonable Angler Column of Fly Fisherman Magazine.

The great Nick Lyons wrote the first Seasonable Angler essay in spring issue of 1976, and he wrote more than 130 Seasonable Angler essays after that, until his retirement in 1998. As you may know, Nick Lyons established the publishing company, Lyons Press in 1984... the same company that has published both of my books, "Casting Forward" and "Casting Onward," and is slated to publish the third in the series, "Casting Seaward." I am honored and grateful. In 1976, I was a teenager who was and still is in love with the outdoors, fishing and hunting, and I was devouring Nick Lyons essays, as well as those of so many great outdoor writers of the time. Then, I could never imagine that I would be offered the opportunity to follow in those literary footsteps, but in this current issues of Fly Fisherman, Publisher/Editor Ross Purnell announces that I will be doing, just that. I am deeply and humbly grateful and moved. I want to thank Ross for seeing value in my words and allowing me this honor. And, I am so pleased and grateful for the amazing and magical artwork of Allan Hassall that will accompany my words. Allan has a unique ability to paint between the lines. He get it... what I am strive to convey, and he transforms it into watercolor images that I personally look forward to seeing each time.

I will do my best for the readers of Fly Fisherman, for the legacy of Mr. Lyons, and for our species and planet. I hope you enjoy and find value in each essay. I am writing them for you. Semper Fidelis - Always Faithful~ Steve#flyfishermanmagazine

Questions and Answers with Steve Ramirez, Author of Casting Onward

1. Tell us about yourself

I am a writer, communicator, life-long learner, teacher, and world outdoor adventure traveler who has always seen his life as a quest that is driven by a search for meaning and a desire to make a positive contribution to humanity and the natural world. Although I have lived most of my life in my beloved Texas Hill Country, I grew up between the ocean and the Everglades in “old Florida” when panthers still roamed widely, and alligator holes outnumbered golf courses. From my earliest days I have been drawn to the outdoors, exploring woodland and wetlands and climbing into treehouses, just to be closer to the birds. And this love of nature and discovery has carried me across four continents, living and traveling across Europe, Africa, South and North America.

As a U.S Marine, Master Texas Peace Officer, and Homeland Security professional, I have experienced the best and worst of humanity. After thirty-five years of service in this capacity, I decided to “turn the wheel” and travel in a new direction. I chose to follow my childhood dreams of exploring nature, learning from the experience, and sharing what I learned. I have always wished to be a catalyst for helping others to connect with nature and share in my desire to protect and respect this beautiful blue planet.

Anyone who reads my work will come to know that I have endured and witnessed much brutality both as a U. S. Marine and Texas Peace Officer. I have lived with the challenges of PTSD and have chosen to transform that experience into greater understanding and compassion for others. I have experienced and often write about the healing power of nature and what has come to be known as “nature therapy.” Through so many of life’s hardships and heartaches, nature has always saved me. I want to do what I can to return that favor.

2. Give a brief description of your book, Casting Onward

In writing this book I traveled thousands of miles by plane, motor vehicle, boat, and foot. Each chapter includes fishing and hiking with friends, old and new, who are also notable persons in the worlds of fishing and conservation. In the course of this journey, I take the reader on adventures to explore and fish mountain streams, alpine lakes, National Wild and Scenic Rivers, desert canyons, brackish water estuaries, and the rolling ocean off the coast of Cape Cod. About half of this book was written while traveling through the COVID-19 pandemic and it touches on the lessons that COVID can teach us about nature and human nature.

In Casting Onward, I expand beyond the geographical scope of my first book in the series, Casting Forward, by fishing for native fish within their original habitats across America. Each story is told in part through the eyes of the people who have lived alongside, and come to love, these waters and fish. Woven throughout these adventures are the stories of the people I meet and befriend, while pursuing a mutual love of outdoor life, as the first criterion for finding common ground.

This is a hopeful story, in an all-too-often seemingly hopeless time. It is a story of fishing and friendship. It is a story of humanity’s impact on nature, and nature’s impact on humanity

3. Why did you write Casting Onward?

R. Buckminster Fuller once wrote, “The things to do are the things that need doing, that you see need to be done, and that no one else seems to see need to be done.” I wrote Casting Onward because I felt it needed to be written and read.

I wrote it because I saw the diminishment and destruction of natural watersheds, rivers, estuaries, and shorelines and with them, the alarming loss of native plants and animals that have evolved in these places. I saw the vanishing sense of community between people, and between humanity and the Earth. And I saw that the way to touch human hearts, minds, and ultimately to change human paradigms has always been through the telling of stories. Through the telling of stories that teach, we have changed the world. I’d like to help change the way we interact with the world and each other, one story at a time.

I wrote this book and this series of books in order to create avenues for hopeful action in an all-too-often seemingly hopeless and apathetic time. I wanted to write about the power of friendship that is based on a shared appreciation and love for all things natural.

4. How would you describe the “characters” in Casting Onward? I noticed that each main character in this collection of outdoor stories is a fly fisher. What is it about fly fishing that lends itself to the story you are trying to tell?

For me the characters of this book include me and my friends from around the country who are anglers, biologists, bioregional naturalists, conservationists of every walk of life, outdoor artists, wildlife photographers, birders, ethical hunters, hikers, and others who like me, crave contact with the natural world.

Whereas in my first book, Casting Forward, I told the story of the Texas Hill Country through my own eyes, I wanted to tell these stories through the additional viewpoints of my friends who consider these places to be their “home waters.” So, it becomes a story of fishing and friendship, during these times of distance and discourse. And it is also the story of native fish acting as the “canaries in the coal mine” indicators of the health of our watersheds, wetlands, and seashores.

Additional characters include the Sun, the Earth itself, its watersheds, rivers, lakes, seashores, estuaries, oceans, mountains, forests, and even deserts. And last but not least, the wildlife and plants that keep this beautiful planet livable. I want the reader to realize that all of the characters on the end of the food chain will cease to exist without those at its beginning. Life is a circle, not a line.

Fly fishing connects us to nature in ways I have seldom experienced in any other outdoor pursuit. A fly angler must understand the fish, its habitat, and the impact of his or her relationship to this creature and place. Fly fishing done well, is meditative, mindful, aware and awake. It causes you to notice what bugs are on and in the water, the currents and tides, and the seasons of buds flowering and leaves falling. Fly fishing is like a dance between the soul of the angler and the soul of the river. And it causes us to be at our best - humble, calm, thoughtful, respectful, grateful, and always, learning and adapting to life as it unfolds… like a river.

5. Is Casting Onward part of a series?

Yes. I have written two of three (possibly four) books for a series being published by Lyons Press. Each book uses fly-fishing stories to take the reader through a particular habitat, while hopefully teaching along the way about the environmental issues we are facing in both the human and natural world and our potential role in making things better or worse.

They are…

· Casting Forward: Fishing Tales of the Texas Hill Country (Lyons Press, Released November 1, 2019.) Focus - Texas Hill Country

· Casting Onward: Fishing Adventures in Search of America’s Native Gamefish (Lyons Press, Expected Release date April 1, 2022.) Focus - Native Gamefish in Watersheds across America

· Casting Seaward: Adventures in Search of America’s Saltwater Gamefish Focus - estuaries, bays, shorelines, and oceans. (In the process of being created.)

I guess a good place to begin is with the vision I held of my first book, Casting Forward, as being the first of a trilogy of connected but unique books that build upon each other philosophically and geographically from “regional,” to “continental,” and “global.”

The original idea for the second book was that “Casting Onward” expands on “Casting Forward” from the watersheds of the Texas Hill Country and its native fish to those found across America and what they can teach us about the state of nature, and human nature, around them.

6. The writing style of Casting Onward is so expressive. Can you tell us about your methods?

I am first and foremost, a storyteller. My writing takes its origins from my ancestors who told stories from generation to generation around a campfire, or beside an ocean’s edge. The single most powerful thing that has moved human civilization in any direction has been our stories. Over time, stories become widely known and accepted as part of our culture and we begin to see the world through the “truth” in these stories. I want to write stories that move pieces of the human world toward a healthier outcome for humanity and the Earth.

When I write, it flows as if coming from another place… beyond me. At first, I write without self-editing and allow the words, ideas, and descriptions to become a rough reality. Later, I edit, edit, edit, to do my best to ensure that each word is needed in order to best tell the story.

I write for the reader, not for myself. I want the reader to feel that they are on the river, crossing the sea, climbing the mountain with me. I want them to feel the pull of the current, the bracing chill of the wind, and the warmth of the sunlight. And I want them to be forever changed by the journey and in that change, learn to love life and living, even more. My writing style flows like a current, sometimes poetic, sometimes descriptive, sometimes prescriptive, sometimes cautionary, sometimes humorous, but always authentic.

7. The various settings of Casting Onward adds much to the texture of the story. Can you tell us about why you chose to set the story in these places?

My goal in each book is to tell entertaining outdoor adventure stories that additionally act to expand the reader’s understanding of the current and coming ecological issues we are collectively facing, predominantly due to the actions of humanity. In order to tell the stories of these hallowed waters, the landscapes that sustain them, and the people who have grown to love them, I traveled to the mountains, desert canyons, wetlands, beaches and bays where these fish and people live and die. I wanted to immerse myself and the reader, into the place, time, and prevailing human culture of each historical landscape.

8. The themes within Casting Onward are powerful and meaningful. What moved you to focus on these themes?

I guess if I were to be forced to state my current most pressing belief, it is that humanity is at a pivotal moment in the course of its existence, due largely to the unintended consequences of our choices, actions, inactions, and the human fictions we have come to accept as “fact.” Almost every serious problem on Earth is the result of a human behavior problem. They are the results of our lesser selves, instead of our better angels. I’d like to see this change, before it’s too late. And there is good news. We are both the problem and the solution.

Nature doesn’t need us; we need nature. We are a part of nature, not apart from it. Nature has the capacity to heal us both medically and spiritually. And we have the power to heal ourselves and to create a healing environment for others. But it all comes down to having the desire and the determination to act out of wisdom, not emotion. We are interdependent, not independent of each other and nature. And the key to everything between humans and other humans, and humans and nature, are relationships.

This story explores the power of positive, respectful, open-minded, adaptive, relationships. It asks the big questions, and hopefully points the way to the best answers. It also seeks to create a more unified connection and love for nature, so that we might be more inclined to make healthier choices on its behalf.

9. What was the most challenging part of writing this book?

My logistical challenges included the complexity of coordinating each experience, traveling in the middle of a pandemic, and the timing so that all of the natural systems such as season, tides, and weather would come together to help me tell the story of a native fish within an endangered watershed or shoreline within an everchanging world.

I also was constantly forcing myself out of my comfort zone. I am by nature, an introvert. In order to write this book, I had to reach out to people I’ve never met, and then fly or drive to wherever they were so that we might experience a wilderness stream, scenic river, or windswept shoreline together. In every encounter, I am the uninitiated. I am the one having to learn new places, new techniques, and new ways of seeing the world. I was like a child, experiencing something for the first time. By pushing myself out of my comfort zone, I was pushing the story forward so that my readers can experience each learning adventure with me, in the comfort of their own home.

10. What other books have inspired you?

There are so many! Non-fiction books include:

· Sapiens- by Yuval Noah Harari, which changed the way I saw the evolution of human culture and the power of storytelling.

· Death in the Long Grass – by Peter Hathaway Capstick, influenced my understanding of powerfully good storytelling.

· A Sand County Almanac – by Aldo Leopold

· Pilgrim at Tinker Creek -by Annie Dillard

· Walden -by Henry David Thoreau

· The Primal Place – by Robert Finch

· Birds by the Shore & The Genius of Birds - by Jennifer Ackerman

· Feral – By George Monbiot

· Dreaming the Future – by Kenny Ausubel

Fiction includes the writings of Albert Camus, Ernest Hemingway’s short stories, Robert Ruark, Richard Bach, Lois Lowry, and Bryce Courtenay.

11. How did you come up with the title?

I guess the best way to answer this is to begin with an introduction to how I think and have always thought since childhood. I think in metaphor and poetry. Everything I see becomes meaningful and becomes a powerful image to either create growth and change or to commit to staying the course of healthy living. My first book, Casting Forward was entitled so as to provide a metaphorical answer to the life question – “What do you do when everything you once thought was true, falls apart?” You keep casting forward.

Casting Onward is about exactly that, continuing onward in growth, learning, and action, and committing to childlike enquiry and resilience. In these times of global ecological, economic, and political uncertainty, we must keep going each day in a manner that creates hope, where none my be evident. Our “back-cast” informs our “forward cast”; the “pause” in between is where we gather our power.

12. How did you design the jacket cover?

I love the cover images and designs in this book series! Each one is purposeful in its creation and presentation. The image at the top of the front cover, depicts “calm water” and the image below depicts “motion.” Both are metaphors for life’s journey.

The supporting design, shapes, and colors were all carefully chosen in partnership with my wonderful editor at Lyons Press, Eugene Brissie. We really work well together. The idea is to draw the potential readers eyes and minds toward a visual summary of what they can expect within the pages of the book- namely, a journey of adventure, discovery, learning, challenge and triumph, joy, hope, and a call to action that we might all choose to make this world a heathier, happier place for all living things including ourselves.

13. What is your favorite passage in the book and why?

That’s a tough question, and I’m not sure I have a single favorite passage but I will choose a passage to share with you.

“Fishing isn’t just about fishing, it’s about belonging. It’s about caring.

It’s about sharing moments and making memories. Like the creeks, streams,

and rivers, we’re all connected. And if we allow ourselves to become solitary,

selfish, and self-involved, we will lose those natural wellsprings of friendship

that replenish us. If that happens to humanity, and we are trending in

that direction, then just like the Bear, Yampa, Green, and Colorado Rivers,

we will vanish into the bedrock of time and our journey will have meant

nothing of consequence. I’d rather flow naturally toward something vaster

than my meager lifetime. I’d rather make a positive difference while I’m here.

How about you?

I am convinced that the defining achievement of Homo sapiens

will not be the way we’ve conquered the Earth and nature as much as the

way we’ve chosen to save it. I do not want to live in a world without wild

places. And I want to live long enough to be proud of humanity for finally

living up to our species name, Homo sapiens— ‘wise man.’”

14. What aspects of your own life helped inspire this book?

Suffering, loss, heartbreak and hardship, the desire to overcome these challenges so as to create hope, where none may seem self-evident. And, the love I have for this beautiful and diverse natural planet, along with my fears that we are losing it due to our own actions, inaction, and lack of awareness. I’d like to play some small role in helping a critical mass of us to come together for the benefit of humanity and the Earth. The presence or absence of native fish, plants, songbirds, and wildflowers are deeply indicative of where we are failing and where we might succeed in this endeavor of restoring balance to the natural world. If I can only have one message get through it would be this…

“Nature doesn’t need us; we need Nature.”

15. What can readers hope to learn from this book?

While it is my intent that the reader will be entertained by these stories of outdoor adventure, it is my hope that they will become more accurately informed about native fish and other wildlife as well as the environments that sustain them, and us. They will learn more about themselves, humanity, society, and the power of choice. Hopefully, this book will inspire and empower action toward the common goal of creating a new “Earth Ethic,” that helps to save much of what we have come to love and depend upon and restore at least some of what has been lost.

16. Is there anything else you’d like to share with your readers?

Yes. I hope they will make Casting Onward a part of their life’s journey and once they have done so, I hope they choose to complete the circle with me reading all three books in this series because each one gives new gifts. And that is what my writing is all about… giving. Everything is connected to everything. We are all in this together. As R. Buckminster Fulleronce said, we can either choose to be the architects of our future… or its victims. I know what my choice is. I hope many good people choose to join me. Together, w

Three Tethers to Life and Living...

Three Tethers to Life and Living: A former child of abuse, U.S. Marine, and Police Officer’s Short Story of Living with PTSD. (May is Mental Health Month)

“I don’t know why it is that some of my best days on the river have

begun with waking alone in the darkness, truly alone, with that deep,

empty feeling—that hollow aloneness that you cannot shake free of. It

had been some time since my service in the Marines, but years later, the

ghosts came to call, and I found myself afraid to sleep, knowing they

would come back. A doctor helped me to chase away the ghosts, but

the feeling of emptiness remained. I guess sometimes surviving is your

punishment. So, you stand in the river, facing upstream with the water

rushing down upon you as if it could somehow fill the hollow emptiness—

and somehow, it always does. So, it was one morning. I stood there,

without even casting and with no trout rising, and as the water rushed

past me, I knew it was washing my burdens behind me, swirling them

downstream like the autumn leaves.

There is a great deal about living that trout can teach us. They teach

us how to keep swimming even in a steady current. Trout know that if

they stop swimming, they cease to be trout and begin to become debris,

floating without purpose wherever the current may take them. Trout

know that if they keep swimming, facing into the current, perhaps in

the eddy of a rock, all that they need to truly live will eventually come to

them. I learn a great deal from trout.”

These words can be found in my first book, “Casting Forward: Fishing Tales from the Texas Hill Country, and they begin a story that has not yet come to an end. It is the story of how I have thus far continued to live with a deeply wounded soul and broken heart. It’s not a sad story; it’s a story of resilience and gratitude as it can be found in the presence of loved ones and at the end of a fly rod.

If you knew my whole story, and it will go with me when I cross the river for the last time… you’d wonder how it is that I have managed to keep breathing and remain largely intact as a person of good humor, much gratitude, and gobs of love. Here is my answer, it’s short, yet quite sweet. I am alive today because of four things: Love, Mindfulness, Gratitude, and the act of Fly fishing, which can encompass the previous three. Please allow me to explain:

Love: It’s not what I have received that gave me reason to keep going but rather, the unconditional love I chose to give. When you love someone you chose to stick around – for them. You endure the pain so they won’t have to, and you find solace in the peace and joy you feel as you give love to others.

Mindfulness: By living in the moment, aware and awake, I am reminded that everything is impermanent – both pain and joy. Nothing last for ever so like a fish in a river, I adapt to the moment and take what comes.

Gratitude: I count my blessings, not my burdens.

Fly fishing: Nature Heals. Nature Teaches. Nature doesn’t need us; we need nature. Fly fishing allows me to be in the moment, mindful of the fish, river, currents, wind, trees, birds and the rhythm of my on casting. It allows perspective and reminds me that the only thing I can control is, my reaction to circumstances. Nature teaches us that “fairness” is a human construct. It is an illusion and an unreasonable expectation. And the only control any of us has over the construct of “fairness” or “justice” is in the actions we choose to take toward another human being – or living thing. Fly fishing reminds me to slow down, live now, let go. I cast as I breath. I retrieve line to the rhythm of my heart beating.

“And so, I stand in the river casting back and forth, trying to lose

that feeling of being alone. It is then that the rainbow rises and takes my

offering. I raise my rod, and all at once, I am no longer alone. I am connected

to his powerful runs, facing into the current. Silver line connects

us, both fighting to live—two beating hearts. He comes to my net. I hold

him gently, rocking him back and forth in the cold rushing water. “Gain

your strength, dear warrior,” I say. Am I speaking to him or to myself?

With a kick of his tail, he returns to the river—and I go with him.”

When life feels unbearable I ask you to consider holding on to just a few things: Love, Mindfulness, Gratitude, and your Fly Rod. Let go of everything else.

Join me and the guys of the Honey Hole Hangout Podcast!

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Fly Fisherman Magazine Announcement

Just Sharing... I am so pleased and honored by this wonderful opportunity to reach out to my fellow anglers, outdoor enthusiasts, explorers, and seekers through the back two pages of Fly Fisherman Magazine. I am deeply grateful to Ross Purnell for offering me this honor and to Allan Hassall for his amazing interpretations of my words and meanings. And, I am grateful to all of you who pick up your copy or subscribe to Fly Fisherman and invest you precious time reading my heartfelt essays.

Semper Fidelis - Always Faithful ~ Steve

Former Marine, and author Steve Ramirez is the new regular Seasonable Angler columnist for @flyfishermanmagazine. To read more of his Seasonable Angler short stories, accompanied by the dreamlike artwork of Allan Hassall, subscribe today at flyfisherman.com/subscribe

Steve's new book, “Casting Onward: Fishing Adventures in Search of America’s Native Gamefish,” is now available for pre-order and will be on sale May 1, see our bio for the link. To read the full review of the book grab a copy of the current issue of Fly Fisherman.

@steveramirezauthor

Casting Onward is arriving at doorsteps and bookstores now!

I'm staring to hear from people who are excited because they pre-ordered Casting Onward and it has arrived ahead of shedule. If you haven't done so.... there are links within this website so that you can place you order and begin enjoying the adventure with me!

Anchored Outdoors with Host April Vokey

Please join me and April as we have a wonderful conversation about life, fly fishing, nature, and more....

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The Richard Eeds Show

https://santafe.com/podcast/richard-eeds-show-march-24-2022/?fbclid=IwAR0tJ2bPsYa6cwSRIjjOL5-vY574SLwdvPfm2MrwQzm0zfgOewMw3k-deY8

I'm glad to have the chance to visit with my friend in New Mexico - "The Voice of New Mexico" Richard Eeds! I think you will enjoy this live show we did...check it out!

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Fly Fisherman Magazine - Seasonable Angler Essay

Once again I am so pleased to have another of my essays appear in the "Seasonable Angler" column of Fly Fisherman Magazine!

I am grateful to FFM Publisher/Editor Ross Purnell for his support of my writing, and to the talented Allan Hassall for his artistic and insightful interpretation of my words.

"Stuff in the Basement" is my third essay to appear in FFM's Seasonable Angler column, and I am deeply honored and humbled to be writing my words in the same space that once held those of the great Nick Lyons.

Also, in this issues is a wonderful review of my new book, "Casting Onward: Fishing Adventures in Search of America's Native Gamefish," which is being released by Lyons Press on May 1st of this year, and is currently available for pre-order.

Matt is a wonderful writer, Director for Science Communications for The Nature Conservancy, Author of "Fishing Through the Apocalypse, and a dear friend. (Total Disclosure.)

I write all of my essays and books as gifts to you- my friends old and new, in the hope that they might bring us all closer to the Earth and each other.

They are bits and pieces of my soul- that hope manage to touch yours in some helpful, healthful, and happy manner. We all need more of this - in these times.

Namaste' Ya'll!~ Steve

Just Sharing… My Lack of Interest in “Immortality”

“If they keep exposing you to education, you might even realize some day that man becomes immortal only in what he writes on paper, or hacks into rock, or slabbers onto a canvas, or pulls out of a piano.”

~ Robert Ruark, The Old Man, and the Boy

4.54 billion years ago, the Earth began to form, first as a gaseous ball the spun from a solar nebula, and in time, approximately another billion years, the first record of microbial life appeared.

We are all just microbes that have mutated and transformed over billions of years until they became able to do important things like build atom bombs, conspiracy theories, and recipes for “better than sex cake.”

In about 5 billion years, our sun will die and with it, our solar system.

I won’t be here to worry about it, and neither will you, or humanity I suspect.

We will most likely have long since destroyed each other and much of the planet’s living creatures - like bad tenants who punch holes in the walls and cover the carpet in urine and empty beer cans before finally being evicted by Mother Nature.

It doesn’t have to be this way…but our collective behavior leans in that direction and I suspect if we don’t lean back soon, the gig is up.

In geologic time, we don’t even amount to being fleas on the backside of a giant dog.

We are like a rash that irritates everything around it but won’t last any longer than the things it is irritating.

Still, when the itching starts, that rash makes all the difference in the world.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be a rash on the butt of the Earth.

The only thing good about graveyards is that some of the best ones preserves old trees and therefore act as a better testimony to what the Earth once was, while saying little about what we once were.

The remains of people long forgotten, now taking up space in airtight boxes under neatly groomed artificial lawns, are a tragic waste of that space, and our last gasp attempt to deny our place in the food chain. (Microbes to Microbes – the truest Circle of Life.) Except for the trees between the gravestones, it is all unnatural. It is all a silly game of make-believe whereas we mere humans- seek immortality.

It’s not for me.

If I give something of value to this world it will come in the form of shared thoughts, discoveries, struggles, failures, occasional triumphs that may ease the journey of another.

It will come as the comfort I offer another when I share that I too have fallen, many times, and have gotten back up, learned from the fall, and carried on.

We are all just raindrops falling and every raindrop is going home, eventually.

We fall, we tumble, we mingle, and we return to the sea, so that we can rise up once again,

as morning mist

and that mist becomes a cloud

and the cloud becomes a spring shower

falling back to Earth

so that flowers bloom and songbirds sing,

once again, as they have for generations.

Life is a circle, not a line.

No matter what we do, it is only for Now.

There is no such thing as “forever after.”

I’m fine with that.

I’m not sure when my time will come to reach the sea.

It may be in two decades or two days.

But I know that I began the process of leaving the moment I was born.

And when I go, I won’t be enclosing my molecules, matter, or energy in some air-tight box.

I won’t expect the side of a mountain to be cut open to engrave a slice of its stone heart with my name and epitaph.

Instead, I will allow those elements that once carried “me” to return to the soil or the sea.

Like songbirds do.

Like fish do.

Like everything else that was once living, eventually does.

It’s only natural.

It's freedom.