Thoughts of a Mrs. Modern-Day Mountain Woman Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Learn a skill as though your life depended on it

Life is too short to do the same thing over and over. As humans, we have an innate desire to learn and grow. Change happens because we have learned a better way of doing something.

Enos Mills, the father of Rocky Mountain National Park, once said,

“The trail compels you to know yourself and to be yourself, and puts you in harmony with the universe. It makes you glad to be living. It gives health, hope, and courage, and it extends that touch of nature which tends to make you kind.”

3 Modern-Day Mountain Kids in a river exploring

Enos Mills was a sickly boy in Kansas. He moved, as a young boy, to Estes Park, Colorado to try to get healthy. He fell in love with the mountains and made them his home and livelihood. Mr. Mills traveled the Rocky Mountains extensively. He lived and worked on the mountain and guided over 300 hikes and expeditions in the Longs Peak area. Mills is a great example of change happening because we have learned a better way of doing something. If he hadn’t moved to Estes as a boy, he wouldn’t have improved his health, he wouldn’t have learned to love the mountains, and we may not have had the National Park we have today. He loved to learn, to observe, and to teach others to love nature and learning. When he was outside, he was truly, “in harmony” with the earth. He was glad to live in nature and show his kindness through his teachings.

When is the last time you learned something new just for the sake of learning it? When have you decided to try a new skill and perfect it just to grow personally? When did you spend a day completely outside enjoying nature just to enjoy it and see what you could see of it? When we push ourselves into trying new things, we can change and grow and influence those around us.

Someone once said about my children that they are always, “either up a tree or in a creek”. That, to me, is a measure of success as a parent. My kids love to play and learn by being outside. My five-year-old has been thinking about future careers lately. He told me recently, that he would like to be a “great up-doors man”. He wasn’t entirely sure of what this meant, but he knew it meant being outside all the time and growing- “up” outside. What a perfect goal for a child! He will learn so many skills by surrounding himself in nature. Already, as a five-year-old, he can tie a figure-eight knot, use a knife, climb a tree, and start a fire (with guidance and observation). He is becoming very self-reliant and confident in his abilities outside. Even inside the house, he is confident and self-reliant. This boy can clean, do his chores, and help me cook. He is learning skills that will serve him later in life to be a well-rounded individual.

Like Enos Mills said, “...it gives health, hope, and courage, and it extends that touch of nature which tends to make you kind.” Having my children outside and connecting with nature does indeed help them to be kind. They have learned how God created all living things for a reason. They’ve watched the ants build their homes and carry food to their workers and babies, they’ve seen how connected the leaves on the trees are to the weather and seasons, they’ve watched squirrels play and jump and enjoy the trees they live in. Enos Mills wanted people to get outside and observe nature and learn the connections we have as humans, to the insects, plants and animals of the world God created.

If we learn to do something in life, we should learn to do it well. As my mom used to say, “if at first you start a job, never leave it till it’s done. Be it big or be it small, do it well, or not at all”. As a child, I did not enjoy hearing her say this as I was scrubbing or vacuuming, but what she said is true. We need to work hard, we need to learn to do new things and do them well, and we need to play hard, just like the squirrels! Life is too short to do the same tasks over and over. Get outside, connect with nature, observe the plants and animals. Try new things and develop your skills, so that in the end, you will be well rounded, full of hope, health, and courage and above all, be kind.