we toy with caffeine in the morning

I have google alerts set up for a few things, one of which is NOLS. I'm typically hesitant to write the word "NOLS" on here, because I'm somewhat paranoid that all my coworkers who also have google alerts set up will then passively stalk/lurk. I realize this is out there for all to see, but still. I guess I prefer blog-stalkers to comment and such. I am now fairly certain that I made my blog invisible to such alerts by way of blogger's glorious customization settings. we shall see...

my point? one of our books at Amazon showed up on my alerts today, and somewhere in my state of seeming verabl* dyslexia and more than usual loss of concentration (blame it on my whiplash?), I started to read the first chapter of one of the books I wasn't familiar with:

We go to the backcountry to find the peace we can't find in the front country. In the front country, we've overbuilt our infrastructure and overheated our schedules, and we glory in the resulting frenzy. We toy with caffeine in the morning, commute distances that can't be sane, rush projects that were due yesterday, work late, and then wonder why our nights go sleepless.

In the wilds, you reduce your world to simple tasks like fetching water, pitching a tent, and cooking dinner. Sometimes it's as simple as putting one foot in front of the other. You are rewarded immediately for completing those tasks, not with a giddy buzz or a narcotic haze, but with the gratification of a pleasing meal, the warm shelter of a well-pitched tent, or a sublime view after scaling the heights of an alpine pass.

National Outdoor Leadership School's Wilderness Guide: The Classic Handbook by Mark Harvey (© 1999 NOLS)

* I swear I didn't do that on purpose! caught it in a proofread and decided to leave it :)