Keep what you truly love, and let go of what does not enhance your life.
How to be a Minimalist in 15 Words
Johnson Canyon & Drops of Jupiter
“Now that she’s back in the atmosphere
With drops of Jupiter in her hair,
She acts like summer and walks like rain
Reminds me that there’s time to change,
Since the return from her stay on the moon
She listens like spring and she talks like June”
– Train
Walking through ancient lava fields, alongside a creek bed, and into a serene canyon where the echo of hawks is amplified off the sandstone walls. An impressive 200 foot arch sprawls above us. Johnson Canyon is a paradise in the desert.
Johnson Canyon is located just outside the fee area of Snow Canyon State Park in Utah. It’s a short two mile hike that is pretty easy and very beautiful. You must hike this in the fall/winter though because the trail is closed every year from March 15 to September 14.
I’ve been trying to be consistent with posting on this blog as well as on instagram, but I do have strings of time where I go AWOL. I miss my mom. When waves of grief engulf me, it feels paralyzing. I withdraw and lose motivation to keep up with everything in life. I do eventually pick myself up and keep pushing forward. Please just hang in there with me when I momentarily disappear.
The lead singer of Train, Patrick Monahan, lost his mother to cancer too. The opening lines of Drops of Jupiter came to him in a dream. He said, “The process of creation wasn’t easy. I just couldn’t figure out what to write, but then I woke up from a dream about a year after my mother passed away with the words ‘back in the atmosphere…It was just her way of saying what it was like – she was swimming through the planets and came to me with drops of Jupiter in her hair.”
“Tell me did the wind sweep you off your feet
Did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day
And head back to the milky way
And tell me, did Venus blow your mind
Was it everything you wanted to find
And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there”
– Train
February Flooding and Fog in Zion
“When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you
I’ll take your part, oh, when darkness comes
And pain is all around
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down”
– Simon & Garfunkel
Snow melting in the higher elevations and pouring rain in the lower. February in Zion can be treacherous with flooding, rock slides, and falling ice.
Zion is still insanely beautiful nonetheless.
“Oh, if it be to choose and call thee mine, love, thou art every day my Valentine!”
– Thomas Hood
“Hello darkness, my old friend,
I’ve come to talk with you again,
Because a vision softly creeping,
Left its seeds while I was sleeping,
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence”
– Simon & Garfunkel
“Take It easy, take it easy
Don’t let the sound of your own wheels
drive you crazy
Lighten up while you still can
don’t even try to understand
Just find a place to make your stand
and take it easy”
– Eagles
“Now I taught the weeping willow how to cry,
And I showed the clouds how to cover up a clear blue sky.
And the tears that I cried for that woman are gonna flood you Big River.
Then I’m gonna sit right here until I die.”
– Johnny Cash
“And so we’re running just as fast as we can
Holding on to one another’s hand
Trying to get away into the night
And then you put your arms around me
As we tumble to the ground and then you say
I think we’re alone now
There doesn’t seem to be anyone around
I think we’re alone now
The beating of our hearts is the only sound”
– Tommy James and the Shondells
“Well I know what’s right
I got just one life
In a world that keeps on pushin’ me around
But I’ll stand my ground
And I won’t back down”
– Tom Petty
“Derive happiness in oneself from a good day’s work,
from illuminating the fog that surrounds us.”
– Henri Matisse
“I’ll be what I am
A solitary man”
– Neil Diamond
“An old cowboy went riding out one dark and windy day
Upon a ridge he rested as he went along his way
When all at once a mighty herd of red-eyed cows he saw
Plowing through the ragged skies and up a cloudy draw”
– Johnny Cash
How to Become a Saver
“The most amazing lesson in aerodynamics I ever had was the day I climbed a thermal in a glider at the same time as an eagle.
I witnessed, close up, effortlessness and lightness combined with strength, precision and determination.”
– Norman Foster
We are in a constant state of motion, we are either soaring upwards, or falling down. Moving forward or going backwards. Every single day our financial state is either improving or getting worse. The direction we go, is ultimately our choice.
For Valentine’s day most couples go out to dinner, or dinner AND a movie. There’s nothing wrong with spending money, just as long as you do it in an intentional and responsible way. Instead of spending the holiday as consumers, my husband and I had a full day adventure photographing eagles, and it was awesome!
Eagles are fascinating birds and have been highly regarded throughout history by many different cultures. Native American tribes see eagles as sacred. When an emperor died in Ancient Rome, a golden eagle would be released at his funeral to carry his soul to the Gods. There’s the epic Kazakh’s in Mongolia who are still hunting with eagles to this day. In Greek mythology there is the Aetos Dios, the “Eagle of Zeus”. In Christianity the eagle can represent salvation. The Garuda is a symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism. And obviously, the bald eagle is the national bird of the USA.
Now what does this have to do with becoming a saver not a spender? Let’s take a look at what eagles symbolize.
Guardianship. Action. Freedom. Control. Vision. Power. Authority. Inspiration. Loyalty. Optimism.
When you take action and save your money, that allows you to have more freedom, power, and control in your life. We should be guardians of our money, instead of being slaves to it. Treat our finances with authority. When you save money you feel more optimistic about life. It allows you to have vision and live with inspiration. When saving money is a priority, you are essentially showing loyalty to yourself.
Most people think you are either born as a saver or a spender. Growing up I was told I was the latter. It was nearly impossible for me to save. I’d get jealous of my siblings who could so easily save their money. I truly thought I was stuck and doomed to always be a spender while others built up savings. Up until my early twenties, I didn’t know I could change. I didn’t know I could stop being a spender and become a saver. None of us are born as spenders or savers, they are learned behaviors. YOU can decide who you want to be. YOU always have the power to change.
Here’s a disturbing fact for you, 63% of American’s don’t have enough money in savings to cover a $500 emergency!
How to Become a Saver
Why:
Before you can make a change, you need to address your emotional and mental reasons for your current actions. Why do you have the urge to spend? Do you think if you don’t spend it now you won’t have the chance later?
Why do you want to save money? It’s important to be very clear with yourself about what your goals are and why. Is there something specific you want to save for? Are you saving so you no longer have to live paycheck to paycheck?
Why wouldn’t you want to have money in savings? Forgo the instant gratifications today, so you can have peace of mind and an even better tomorrow.
Ditch the excuses.
If you spend $3 every day on something non-essential (coffee, soda, snacks, fast food, impulse purchases, etc) … that equates to over $1,000 per year. If you are reading this right now, there is absolutely no reason on earth why you shouldn’t have some money in savings!
Perspective:
Change your perspective. Question your beliefs about money. Focus on developing an abundance mentality.
In the consumerism trap you will never have enough, you will always want more. Ever bought new clothes only to get tired of them and then need even newer clothes? Or that iphone that you desperately needed 6 months ago that is now totally ancient and you now need the latest version? Going down the road of consumerism may bring fleeting “happiness”, but it will never give you lasting joy. Change your thinking, change your habits, change your life.
Spend less. Stop shopping as a hobby. Separate needs from wants. Realize when something is a first world problem. Stop putting yourself in situations where you are tempted to spend. Don’t aimlessly walk around shops or casually browse online stores. Be intentional. If you need groceries, make a shopping list and stick to it. Calculate the true cost of things. Delay making purchases. Find alternatives.
Stop being a slave to your appetites. Start having self control over your spending.
Action:
Make saving a priority. Create a plan. Have a designated place for your savings. A bank account specifically for savings, a jar at your house, whatever you want as long as it is separate from the rest of your money. Decide how much you want to save each month.
Get in the habit, start small if you need to. Only able to save $10? That’s better than nothing. Be deliberate. Don’t “wait til the end of the month and see what’s leftover”. Always save first! Budget your money so that saving is a priority.
Automate your savings if you need to. You can have your bank take a certain amount automatically from your paycheck and into your savings account. Or if you set up $10 a day to automatically transfer to savings, after one year you’ll have $3,650 saved. To me it feels more empowering to consciously transfer money to savings. It feels good when you are able to have self-discipline and transfer the money yourself. Do whatever works best for you.
Try making savings a game or challenge. Set a deadline. Save every $5 bill you get. Start saving a 1% increase of your income each month, after a year you will be saving 12% more. Get your family on board and be creative about it. Make it fun.
Resist the temptation to spend what you’ve saved. Break through your self imposed barriers. Don’t self sabotage. In my late teens I had such a struggle to get my savings to more than $300. I’d save around that much, give up, then spend what I had saved. I’d get frustrated at how little the amount was, or something would come along that I “needed”. Once I was finally able to get over that hurdle, I was able to continue saving and feel strong against the temptation to spend it. Maybe you are the same as I once was. Your amount or reasons may be different, but the point is, we all have hurdles in life. Invisible limits we think we have. You can overcome anything. Put your heart, mind, and soul to it.
You just gotta do it. Don’t make it complicated. Simply just start saving your money.
“The eagle has no fear of adversity.
We need to be like the eagle and have a fearless spirit of a conqueror!”
– Joyce Meyer
I highly recommend reading or listening to “On the Wings of Eagles”. It’s a really great talk by Pres. Dieter F. Uchtdorf.
Remember, it’s never too early or too late to start saving, and no amount is ever too little.
It’s your choice to be a saver or a spender. I choose to be a saver.
Let’s be like eagles, kings of the skies!
“Farewell!” they cried,
“wherever you fare, till your eyries receive you at the journey’s end!”
That is the polite thing to say among eagles.
“May the wind under your wings bear you where the sun sails and the moon walks,”
answered Gandalf, who knew the correct reply.”
– J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
Timber Creek Overlook Trail at Kolob Canyons
“Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing,
wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating;
there is really no such thing as bad weather,
only different kinds of good weather.”
– John Ruskin
The Kolob Canyons section of Zion National Park is easy to access and not as crowded as the main park. The striking sandstone cliffs are absolutely gorgeous. The Timber Creek Overlook Trail is one of my favorites! At the end you get stunning views of the Pine Valley Mountains, Kolob Terrace, Kolob Canyons, and Mount Trumbull (which is at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon).
If for whatever reason you aren’t able to hike, the 5 mile scenic drive offers incredible scenery without needing to leave your car. There are also plenty of benches and picnic tables to relax and ponder the beautiful world we live in.
“Our landscapes connect us to our history;
they are the source of our character as a people,
as well as our health, our safety, and our prosperity.
Natural resources enrich us economically, yes.
But they also enrich us aesthetically and recreationally
and culturally and spiritually.”
– Robert Kennedy, Jr.
A quiet place to sit and feel the love of our Creator.
I carefully walked in the footsteps of hikers before me.
The snow was about 3 feet deep, but if I stuck to the course,
I could avoid a deep fall.
Occasionally I did stray ever so slightly,
and inevitably fell through the snow like it was quick sand.
#lifelesson
(Donovan must’ve been a lot larger than the previous hikers,
because he sunk far down with almost every step haha.)
“Life is full of beauty. Notice it.
Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces.
Smell the rain, and feel the wind.
Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.”
– Ashley Smith
“Earth teach me to forget myself as melted snow forgets its life.
Earth teach me resignation as the leaves which die in the fall.
Earth teach me courage as the tree which stands all alone.
Earth teach me regeneration as the seed which rises in the spring.”
– William Alexander
“Wherever you look there are inspirations, books, literature,
paintings, landscapes, everything.
Just living is an inspiration.”
– Gavin Rossdale
“We build statues out of snow, and weep to see them melt.”
– Walter Scott
(Yes, Donovan and I did indeed stop mid-hike to build a snowman!)
“How did it happen that their lips came together?
How does it happen that birds sing,
that snow melts, that the rose unfolds,
that the dawn whitens behind the stark shapes of trees
on the quivering summit of the hill?
A kiss, and all was said.”
– Victor Hugo
“And finally Winter, with its bitin’, whinin’ wind, and all the land will be mantled with snow.”
– Roy Bean
“I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently?
And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt;
and perhaps it says, “Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.”
– Lewis Carroll
The Pine Valley Mountains.
“And so we remained till the red of the dawn began to fall through the snow gloom.
I was desolate and afraid, and full of woe and terror.
But when that beautiful sun began to climb the horizon life was to me again.”
– Bram Stoker
“I love to sit on a mountain top and gaze.
I don’t think of anything but the people I care about and the view.”
– Julian Lennon
From childhood’s hour I have not been
As others were; I have not seen
As others saw; I could not bring
My passions from a common spring.
From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow; I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone;
And all I loved, I loved alone.
Then- in my childhood, in the dawn
Of a most stormy life- was drawn
From every depth of good and ill
The mystery which binds me still:
From the torrent, or the fountain,
From the red cliff of the mountain,
From the sun that round me rolled
In its autumn tint of gold,
From the lightning in the sky
As it passed me flying by,
From the thunder and the storm,
And the cloud that took the form
(When the rest of Heaven was blue)
Of a demon in my view.
– Edgar Allan Poe
The Red Man Pictograph
Warner Valley, located south of St. George, Utah near the Arizona border is a pretty epic place! There are dinosaur tracks and the Fort Pearce ruins. The Honeymoon and Temple trails went through here. 1800’s pioneer names are written on rocks with axle grease. Multiple petroglyph sites. The Spanish Dominguez-Escalante expedition traversed this area back in 1776. And it is home to The Red Man.
The Red Man pictograph faces east. He is the color of blood, which represents life. East means the beginning of life. He is a sky watcher. Looking for the return of a white god who visited and promised to return. I believe that white god to be Jesus Christ.
To get to this amazing pictograph, you will park at the Fort Pearce site, then hike down along the wash for a few miles. There are tons of petroglyphs all along the wash, though I didn’t photograph very many this trip. I was preoccupied with getting to the Red Man haha.
Some pioneer names written with axle grease.
“To the ends of the earth, would you follow me
There’s a world that was meant for our eyes to see”
– Lord Huron
Just a few of the many petroglyphs along the wash.
Pointing to the Red Man, high up in an alcove.
Looking up towards the alcove.
This is a very naturally protected site. There were many obstacles making it difficult for us to get up to the Red Man. For example, these thorny bushes!
The Red Man.
For size reference, I am 5’7″ tall. So as you can see, the Red Man is a very large pictograph!
Nice view.
Thank you for visiting The Bohemian Life!
Peace & Love,
-Kayla Oliver