Sometimes I have experiences that make me wonder.
My family traveled to Georgia for the solar eclipse in August of 2017. We were all passionate about experiencing this phenomenon for ourselves. Being a homeschooled family and unattached to any system, we did as we pleased and planned a short family trip to the area of totality.
Weird enough things happen to us already. The kids spray painted our trailer with their names and my oldest brother even painted the eclipse in the corner. We were “that” crazy homeschool family that couldn’t care less what people thought. On top of that, when we were checking out places to stay in Georgia, we found every campsite and hotel room had been booked a year in advance. Of all places to spend a vacation, we booked a Super 8.
Regardless, the eclipse was amazing. We found a tiny park by a river and watched in peace. The next day, we visited Tallulah Falls, where we hiked the gorge and climbed hundreds of steps to see the waterfalls.
But the most awesome event of the trip was the last day. We went to Stone Mountain. The huge rock juts 825 feet into the air. Carved into the side are the pictures of three Confederate heroes: President Jefferson Davis, General Robert E. Lee, and General “Stonewall” Jackson. It was quite a hike, and an amazing source of Confederate history and inspiration.
On the way down the mountain after the hike up, I met one of the coolest people I have ever talked to. I saw him coming toward me, and immediately felt like connecting to him.
So I introduced myself, and asked his name.
“Julius Lee,” he answered. “I’ve climbed this mountain 7 times since this morning.”
I thought he was kidding.
“Look me up,” he said. “I hold the world record for climbing this mountain the most times in one day.”
Sure enough. I looked him up, and found that he holds the Fitbit world record. This guy climbs Stone Mountain 6 times every day. This excludes Saturday’s, when he climbs it 10 times.
What dedication. What a beast. I left shaking my head. I should have snapped a picture with him. But I was too thrilled about meeting him to even think through that.
What if I hadn’t followed that urge to talk to him? I’d have one less cool experience to relate. I’d have one less motivating story in my back pocket.
You never know who you’ll run into. Keep your eyes open, and let life come to you. Cool things are right around the corner if you’ll just open your eyes.