Finding Balance in the Verdugo Mountains

I'm in the Verdugo Mountain Open Space Preserve area today. Just randomly stumbled across this place. There's a fire road. There's a big five-mile hike, but I just came up here for some quick views. Recharge in nature. It overlooks the Angeles National Forest back there, the mountains. I just wanted to talk a little bit about balance and gratitude. You know, lately I've been finding myself getting unbalanced because I've been trying to build my YouTube channel and grow my social media presence so that I can do things on my own and create my own projects and live kind of a location-free existence. That's the goal that I'm building towards. But I've been getting wrapped up in that stuff, posting and just kind of doing too much online. It's always good to get outside and recharge in nature. And balance is something that I've struggled with pretty much all my life. So I just wanted to touch on that, like how it's a continual journey and struggle to find balance. And for me, I think getting out in nature and doing these little, even a quick little hike like this is really important for just being at peace with myself and an important component of being able to fully enjoy being out in nature and finding that balance for me has been fitness and exercise. You know, if you're out of shape, it's difficult to go on hikes and go outside and do adventures and jump off waterfalls and stuff like that, climb rocks. Because you're out of shape, you're not strong, you're not cardio fit. So I find that these days my primary goal is less to look good when I go to the gym and more to just be strong if I want to do some bouldering or rock scrambling or rope swinging or climb a tree or climb a rock or jump off a waterfall. I want to stay fit for those adventures. And the main reason I want to do those adventures is because I'm grateful that I'm in good shape. I have all my arms and legs, all my fingers and toes and, you know, there will come a time when if I live long enough, I'm not going to be able to do these things. I'm not going to be able to run and swim and jump. And so when mortality is staring you in the face, like I'll give you an example. The other day I was at the gym and I was debating doing cardio. I'm not a huge fan of just on a treadmill or anything like that. I like hiking, I like playing basketball, active stuff, swimming in the ocean. And I was thinking like, oh, I don't really want to do cardio. And then I was thinking like, man, what if I, because my brain goes to dark places like immediately. It's like the default setting. It's like, what if I get into a car accident and lose both my legs tomorrow or, or have a foot amputated or, you know, get frostbite and lose a foot or lose a leg or lose part of a leg. Like I'll be like wishing I did cardio today. And like that thought was enough to just drive me to like sprint and run as fast as I could around this track. I'm like, I am just going to run as fast as I can for as long as I can. And like the gratitude, like when my lungs started burning, it was like, it was like the only time in my life, I swear to God that I was like so grateful for like feeling the burning in my lungs and like, and just feeling alive and like, man, I don't know if I'm going to have all my legs tomorrow or both my legs and all my toes tomorrow, but right now I do and I'm going to run my ass off for as long as I can and as hard as I can and as fast as I can. And it was like that expression of gratitude for my body and my health. It was like so, I don't know if cathartic is the right word, but it was just so fitting and it was so appropriate. And I just wanted to share that story with you, like finding balance and why I like to do these outdoor adventures and, and why I think for me fitness to get the most out of your adventures, fitness is key. You know, whitewater rafting, there's a lot of paddling and stuff like that. I haven't gotten into kayaking yet. I want to, um, but you know, the, the, that, that motion, you know, you have to have a strong back, you have to do those bros, you have to do pull-ups, you have to do weights and cardio to find that balance so that you can get the most out of your outdoor adventures. And that's what I do. And I hope that, um, this has been a little inspiring for you to get out there, find your own adventures, find your fitness level, find that balance. Even if you get out for a five minute hike, just in nature with the green surroundings, with the wind and, and the sun and to get recharged in that natural environment, it does a lot for peace of mind. Thanks a lot. I'll see you next time. Infamous.