The beauty of this world cannot be suppressed. A strong desire in humans to protect & defend their freedom also plays big role in this web of life. Certain inalienable liberties were gifted to us by the Creator and CANNOT be taken away or forfeited by any government or institution but sometimes we have to fight to protect them. There’s an evil on our planet that feels too unreal to acknowledge and is often grossly overlooked. However, it has always been there and instinctively challenges our freedom if it goes unchecked (think runaway government, greed, crony capitalism, etc) and so most people never take time to learn the truth and remain ignorant. They say those that don’t learn their own history are doomed to repeat it.

The dark shadow that now envelops our world has been here since the beginning and should be expected, but is unrealized. The current injustices unfolding everywhere have happened before, just not at this current scale of destruction. I know for a fact that the depredations against Native Americans (American Indians) in the past would eventually inflict all American Citizens especially through greed; consider the Patriot Act, and the new 2012 Federal NDAA Defense Bill that passed the US Senate, recently. This bill will declare the American homeland a battle field where American citizens are arrested if they are “suspected” of being a terrorist, or sympathizing with any terrorist group. Heck, if you act “belligerent” they can accuse you of being a terrorist and put you in endless detention without due process & without being charged for a crime. You’ll be denied a lawyer and locked up without a trial by jury! While bypassing Miranda Rights, this bill also justifies the torture of citizens while shredding the Bill of Rights. This has forced me to start pondering how we wound up with such treasonous senators and how we voted them into office!? How could they even consider passing such a dangerous, malicious bill? Many of the same injustices brought about by tyranny have harmed millions of people. Rogue governments have murdered millions and now this darkness is knocking at the door of the American people, fully armored. Surely, it was just a matter of time…

Over the years, I’ve spent my life wondering and traveling through beautiful isolated places that are unknown and often mysterious. I’ve tried to ignore the bad things in the world. Now, as Americans begin to lose their freedom & way of life (like their predecessors, the First Nations) at the hands of this dark wind (also known as Westward Expansion, colonialism, Manifest Destiny, and now greed) it’s important that we still have these beautiful places and a powerful strength within the human spirit to fight against this evil called greed. As it starts to entrench the Earth, and enslave humanity, it is just one of the beginning chapters of a cataclysmic change that’s going to arrive very soon. In fact, many non-western based cultures have been expecting this change for hundreds if not thousands of years.

There is a reason why all these terrible and unbelievable natural disasters are unfolding; massive earthquakes, rogue tsunamis, climate change, unruly wildfires, and rumors of deadly diseases. The Earth Mother is revolting. It is time for humanity to play a major role in this great change. In my gut I know a lot of people are going to suffer as a result. I cannot tell you exactly what’s going to happen because I don’t have the answers but is time for us two-leggeds to rise up and fight against this dark wind. This is a test of our humanity and I believe the Creator is fully aware of our struggles and sufferings.

As an LDS Mormon, we have our own prophecies and spiritual leaders who are guiding us in the last days. This however is my personal poetic and spiritual message to the world. It comes straight from my heart! My grandfather was a spiritual guide and an important patriarch of our family and he would always remind us to “stand ye in holy places and do what’s right in the world.” I don’t need to explain all those age-old teachings about loving your neighbor and your enemy. We all know the basics. He warned me for several years of the things that would ensnare the world and change everything as we know it, forever. We are here at the crossroads. We have entered the Event Horizon. There is no turning around, or going back. All we have is the courage to move forward with fortitude! We have to be very bold, generous, and nonviolent.

We all have to face this and survive it. So get ready. For me, all the answers lay in the wilderness. Even Jesus of Nazareth fasted for forty days and forty nights in the wild when contemplating serious spiritual matter. The rolling hills and canyons have been my haven from any uncertainty. Every time I go in the mountains, I feel like I’m returning home. The beauty of the land plays a central role to my beliefs and I share some of that affinity with my indigenous brothers and sisters who have survived and thrived into the last days, despite genocide, racism, and all the colonialism. They have strong ties with the past with their understandings of time and place and how all of history is interwoven into the present and future. I love all my friends, and all the people who have made a difference in my life, both culturally and spiritually. Mainstream America could learn a thing or two from Native people, many of whom still maintain and practice their original traditional lifeways.

To wrap this up, the world as we know it, is coming to an end. Note this, it is going to happen! So prepare. It is time for us to wake up and acknowledge the reality or parish in the tide. Pray to the Creator for the world and for mercy upon all of us. Learn and dig for the deepest truth. Make it a passion and teach yourself how to survive. Teach your friends what you know so that they can start preparing. People can survive if their heart is in the right place. That much, I do know! The Creator will know what’s in your heart. The evil and wickedness in this world will all be destroyed.

It is time for every soul to know the truth and begin asking hard questions. This is the test. Seek out the facts and really learn. Become a citizen journalist and know the importance of spreading information and facts so that more people become objective, informed and proactive. The mainstream media cannot be trusted. Their campaign has been to dumb down our friends and loved ones. It’s up to every two-legged to become a journalist. Start learning the ethics of journalism and get to work learning the truth and educating other curious minds. Information & exposing truth are the most powerful tools to change our world. This is apart of the test to see whether humanity will act accordingly.

I don’t have all the answers, I’m just going on my gut with this because I’m still looking for the truth. The more I learn, the less I know! If I am compelled to act it’s because of what I know. In the end, I’m just another two-legged with a good heart…

Let’s not forget all the warrior spirits who have fought and died for our freedoms and the beauty that we have in the world today. Let’s remember them and realize that it is our duty to protect our freedoms and everything that is beautiful in this sacred world.

To me… Beauty runs much deeper than the friggin skin and much deeper than the human spirit; it is determined by someone’s outlook. Foolishness is ugly, and if you don’t have beauty in your heart and outlook, then you are an ugly person. It’s that simple to formulate!

I’m one of the last and youngest of a dying breed that has any lick of horse-sense left with which these newer generations cannot even mentally comprehend! All greenhorn city slickers can just ignore this status entirely because they don’t even have a clue. As Joe Dirt would joyfully chant; “Keep on keeping on.”

Who gives a crap whether drama is useful or not or whether people try to tell you how to act, how to behave, how to conform. I really don’t give a rat’s butt when people tell me what to do, what to think, and what to believe. I believe in the truth and getting to the bottom of it at any cost. This is a cause that is worth fighting for. Organizations like Wikileaks are trying to keep world governments free and transparent. They are trying to be a voice & power for the people, to protect their liberties. Julian Assange may be an American enemy to some but I view him as a Jeffersonian Hero. He believes in protecting the Freedom of the Press and he believes that is what he’s fighting for. I’m not going to back down into a closet on this issue, because I will let my heart speak freely and declare the world is a better place because of Julian Assange. We have a conduit at our disposal which will hold our government accountable for it’s actions, for the abuse of power, for those who try to hide their crimes behind secrecy, in the name of National Security. I don’t want my country committing crimes in my name. I want the American Republic to become what it was meant to be according to the original beliefs and intentions behind the Constitution. We need to stand up and protect our liberties. We need to be more decisive and seek the truth amongst all the smoke and take a stand against any potential that leads to tyranny. Let’s ask hard questions and require more accountability by our federal government which is supposed to be answering to the people!

Seriously people, get up and FIGHT or lose your freedom!

A Child….
When you start to talk about the wind in your hair….
I know it is because you are running from life…
So run…..
You are very talented though!
You write like Edward Abbey…
your pictures are breathtaking….
you play a mean flute tune…
Your the best damn tour guide….
You are kind….
You are caring….
You’re so talented that you don’t see it….
you’re passionate….
and these things I am envious of….
They make you rich…..
They make you unique….
and I could learn a thing or two from ya….
I proud of these things….in my son…

In the morning, I am getting up early and driving three hours to Delta to sell some Alabaster to a rock shop there. Yup, that’s how I am going to pay the rent this month. My favorite stretch of highway is between Milford and Deseret, Utah, which is seventy miles without services and very desolate. If I have enough time to spare this will mean plenty of desert landscape shots through my lens tomorrow.

On another note, I’m heading to the bottom of the Grand Canyon with my best friend, Omar and a few ladies this weekend. Hopefully we’ll stop in at the Bar 10 Ranch and grab dinner out there and maybe say hello to my old friends. They want me to help them in April to do some guide work in the canyon. I’m thinking it over. Trust me, the bottom of the Grand Canyon is much warmer than Cedar City at this time of year.

Libya becomes bloodbath as Moammar Gadhafi begins lose grip on power. I support the Libyan people in the uprising against Gadhafi’s regime. For me, the serious unrest is reminiscent of a scene from the movie, Braveheart, where Sir William Wallace screams FREEEEEDOM right before losing his head after a long, arduous and disheartening struggle. Let this be a reminder that freedom often comes with a lethal sacrifice in human blood. Gadhafi is an evil man who is not going to give up without a deadly fight. I can feel the courage, and the thirst for freedom that Libyans are feeling. Gadhafi’s desperation emboldens and glorifies their effort. Believe me, Moammar is the real Cockroach. I am cheering for all Libyans to reach their deepest dream to find the peace that they deserve in this world, and in the hereafter. My heart is cheering for the people who are paying the price for freedom in the Middle East. It’s amazing this is happening in my lifetime. The most honorable deed is fighting for what is right, taking a stand for truth and defending what is most sacred. Freedom is tasty and it’s worth the high price. Don’t forget, It’s better to die fighting rather than on your knees, begging the enemy.

My heart is quiet as I listen to the dark winds moving in from the west as the sun drops in the crimson purple abyss. There is a soft twilight mixed with the smell of cold juniper frost and the sound of a monster walking in the woods. The branches of the pinions creak as the night envelops the desert hills.

My imagination takes a journey into the past, to the most ancient times, and I can see them flint-knapping and throwing unused chips of augite into the dirt. One old man is building a fire that grows strong and he stokes it with dead sage and broken pinion branches. This ignites in my mind like a dream or a vision. His skin is withered and his hair is silvery gray with snow-white streaks. He sits on the cold rocky ground and huddles near the fire with the reflection of the flames dancing in his eyes. He’s looking into the fire pondering the wind, the land, and the old ways, and the stories. He’s thinking of his family, his parents, and the stories that his grandfather passed onto him before he died several ages before.

This old man, he’s some unnamed Indian man, just a flicker of light in my dream. But the scene replays over and over of the old man thinking and gazing into the fire. He’s thinking of his grand-kids, and the people gathered around and about. Dinner is over, and it’s late at night and other people are huddled around other fires as well. The stars come out, and the wind howls.

And then the memory, like a firefly, comes and goes…

Racism isn’t just random acts of hate; everyone is infected with it. Racism is ignorance and peoples’ refusal to walk in the shoes of people who are different than them. Racism is apathy and a refusal to learn both sides of the story. Racism is the refusal to ask hard questions. Last of all, I see a racist as someone who believes so strongly in race that they fight extra hard trying to defend a false construct.

Life is good but how do you rid yourself of bad behavior like procrastination? It’s not healthy or desirable. The worst kind of activity is unproductivity. Life is about setting goals and progress happens one step at a time. It’s not a simple matter because it takes a conscious effort and some faith.

Being on Earth every day is the ultimate experience but it’s hard to know the outcome. My father always said; “the choices you make now will ripple into your future.” I’ve felt the ripples of my choices and they were unanticipated. NATE, you’re time on this planet is limited so make wise decisions, please!

I love certainty and knowing what’s going to happen, or where the road may lead. So many people are content to float around. There’s nothing wrong with it but I’m captain of my destiny because I choose the life I create. Not everything happens by chance. That’s why it’s important when considering every opportunity that comes along.

It’s been a beautiful week at the end of the semester. School is done as we move forward into summer. I’ve got plans. Big changes are coming into my life one step at a time. Never be afraid to dream big and strive for the best outcome. Many individuals wait for the wind to hit their sail but there’s a paddle in my boat!