Zach's Story: The Sweet Life

For quite some time now I have felt the strain of the remnants of my old life. Alcohol, womanizing/sexual sin, ill-uses of my tongue… these things continually being present in my life and depleting me of happiness and self-worth. As every weekend hit I found myself indulging in one regret or another. Slowly stirrings began to transpire within me as I prepared myself for the walk I am destined to undertake. The man on the other side of the mirror, the reflection of what I could be through the fruition of potential. As of late, I have begun to drawn nearer to Christ than ever before. My heart is open, my head is being made clear (as the fog dissipates). God is moving for me, he is waving me in, beckoning to me. This spirit journey I am navigating is profound in power. This roller coaster in which I leap…. Then falter, leap… then falter again. God has presented me with endless opportunities to take the plunge. He drives my life when I am close to him and I feel him lin...

Recently I had the great privilege of traveling to New Orleans. Having been born and raised in Minnesota, this experience was quite a shell-shock. Lake living and frigid tundra winters gave way to a city built on soul and the greatest cuisine of all time (Cajun!). Minnesota being a place that prides itself on hot-dish (fancy casserole) and flannels does not have the same cultural significance as a place such a New Orleans, my apologies to all Minnesotans. I love Minnesota and my childhood there, but we are not as stimulating by means of culture. Plus we have Paul Bunyan! Having committed the last couple years of my life to intense traveling, I like to say that I have came to see a great many things. However, in all the places that I have been I have yet to see a place truly like NOLA (New Orleans slang). The best way that I can describe it would be to say that NOLA is the birth child of Austin, TX and Nashville, TN and it is the twin sister of Amsterdam that was sent to boardin...

Well, it has happened. I have officially joined the crossfit cult. My entrance into the movement has been a unique and exciting experience. Before I entertain you with the epic tale that is my crossfit experience, I need to give you some background. I was a college football player and I loved to compete. Working out and training has been a large part of my life and after college I was finding that workouts were not the same. I did not find the same satisfaction, motivation, results, or enjoyment in carrying out my SOLO-flex workouts. A large amount of my drive comes from competing with those around me and the community feel- of training as a team. I had lifting partners, I tried a couple of group workout classes, I dabbled in boxing, and they all were enjoyable... but not lasting. My girlfriend (who was a friend at the time.. long and fun story...she is amazing) showed me her crossfit gym and I loved it! Sadly, work travels and a 3-month road trip took me away from crossfit, BUT upon m...

I have to say that one of my favorite things in life is the power behind people feeling compelled to carry out an act. Acts of service, reaching out in thanks, acknowledging someone for their skills, giving that positive review, paying it forward, generous tips, anything of that nature. The power behind human connectivity and the human experience. I LOVE IT! Feeling that urge to reach out. That feeling that compels you to act. I was recently on the receiving end of an uplifting email and it made my day, and compelled me to compose this blog entry. Thinking about the times that I have been compelled into similar action brings me joy in seeing the responses of others that I have reached out to and I can empathize with the fulfilling/satisfying feeling that takes hold of you on the receiving end. So I urge everyone to carry out these acts more often! There are compelling powers at work in the world and we should all act upon them when they arise! Give that compliment when it is due. ...

Being back in the New Prague area for work the last couple of weeks has been such a blast from the past. I miss the people of NP, my first grade team at Falcon Ridge Elementary School, Etlin's Cafe, New Prague Trojan sporting events, small town festivals, driving down main street, eating at Lau's Bakery, Montgomery volleyball and bar scene, Home Plate in Le Seur, dancing at Whiskey Business, there are so many things that I miss about that town.  It baffles me to see how my life is shaping itself outside of my envisioned life years ago. After college I had "it all," as I was living in a small town, teaching 1st grade, and thriving. Had my community, my school, my career, made big boy purchases (first new car, etc.), and I was solidified. That was going to be my life and I was ready for the adventure. My roots were beginning to settle in. I love everything about the town, its people, the culture, the feel, and I could see myself growing old there. However, after having ...

I am going to use this platform through drastically different means than I usually do, so bare with me. These last few months have been quite the roller-coaster as the year 2018 is coming to a close. Meeting parts of myself I had not formally been introduced to, challenges never before seen, new focus and vision, amongst other things. This year has seen a great deal of travel, produced some internal insights that had been previously misunderstood, and the accumulation of memories. This year I can say that I have truly lived! Heart-ache, understanding, opportunity, captivation, joy, adventure, grinding, persevering, all building to the iconic human experience. I have been on a fast track to all things this year. Sprinting to extremes around each turn. Such placelessness and ensnarement, complimented by moments of pure liberation and self discovery. A year to go down infamously as one of polarization. Towards to climactic ending to this year I carried out a 3-month road trip followed up ...

I want to be a man of many talents: a published author an outdoors man a traveler a competent home development worker a fisherman a man of his word a father a lover a husband a friend to many an inspiration to more a teacher a student a man of depth a story teller a happy man a man warn and withered who still came out ontop a motivator a character a man who endures a man of growth a man that has reached his full potential a farmer a shining light a man of god

I have recently been cast back into the real world for roughly a month.... I will say that this transition back has been quite the task. Having come off my 3-month road trip I found a new motivation, vision, direction, and drive to become a heightened version of myself. Achieving great feats... taking on new learning.... finding fulfillment and to continue to work enthusiastically! However, the real world struck and it struck hard. It took me a month to get back into the hustle and bustle of the real world. Time management has been tough as I have found work consuming a great deal of my life. In all honesty, it has not been pleasant. I feel as though my momentum and achievements have halted as I returned. The passion I had this summer is not being harnessed like before, I do not have the time to pursue the hobbies that I had envisioned taking on, and I am not captivated in the ways I thought possible. However, as I am catching up with the stressors of the real world again, and I am fin...

This summer has been formative and informative. So many insights and perspectives have been gained. I truly feel as though I am returning to the world bigger and better than ever. I took on new learning, jumped out of my comfort zone frequently, lived in a variety of settings, met a bigger variety of people, was captivated by nature in ways I had never been before, I gained new focus, priorities shifted. I truly feel as though I have become an adult now. This trip encouraged so much growth and gave me new direction. I am going to be more present when I am at "home" (while still traveling when I can). I am a new fan of alone time and grew more mellow on this trip. Not talking all the time turns out to be quite the relief. New hobbies and interests have been acquired.... it is actually hard to articulate everything that this trip has meant to me, but it has encouraged me to think about teaching again, and doing so in a different state. A bigger focus is going to be placed upon ...

This summer's Grand Adventure has taken me far and wide, but in all of this time I have found myself spending the most time in New Mexico. Spending 3-weeks in various mountain towns of New Mexico. This is partially due to the fact that my aunt and uncle live in Alamogordo, so there was added incentive, but it is equally due to my love of this place and my desire to live on a mountain. Coming from Minnesota this environment is drastically different from anything that I grew up with. In Minnesota we have deep woods, lakes, and fields of corn... arriving in New Mexico I am finding that there is an impressive amount of environmental diversity. The desert landscapes that are historically pictured in your mind's eye when you envision New Mexico are accurate of some regions, however, they are not indicative of the state as a whole. My trip took me through Texas and into NE New Mexico. Driving through you are going to see cast desert/arid landscapes suited with massive windmill farms, ...

Throughout my life I have had this vivid imagination, and as I got older I used this imagination to draft up an image of what I wanted my life to be like. Who I wanted to be. What was to come. Now as I have aged the plan has taken on different forms and has become more realistic (in that I RARELY dream about being a nomadic rodeo clown when I grow up anymore...). There are certain things that I know will happen and need to happen: I will be THE GREATEST FATHER to multiple children. I will be an upstanding person in the community, who is involved in many ways. I will have an extensive library. I will have a hammock perch. Those things are a given and now I am starting to hone in on a more solidified vision. As traveling is really starting to take a hold on my life I have this overwhelming desire to go out and EXPERIENCE life. Now I was raving about living  out of state... however, as Jared gets older I want to be around to witness him really grow and develop. Watching his fo...

I have spent a handful of time in the SW recently. Having lived/worked in Austin, Texas for a month-and-a-half; camped in the pan handle of Texas at McClellan Lake, trekked into the Palo Duro Canyon, from there I worked on a farm in Tiejeres, NM for a week spent some time in Albuquerque, then spent 3 weeks in Alamogordo (with a casino weekend in Santa Fe). Throughout this time I have really come to appreciate the SW. It has so much more to offer than meets the eye. You can be captivated by the vast desert expanses, admire all of the mountains on every horizon, experience a culture entirely different from the Midwest, and so much more. Cowboy boots, authentic Mexican food, 2-steppin, country/latina music, dry heat, simple living to mega-cities, the SW is a unique place. You can go from mountain towns, to towns that make you feel like you are in ol' mexico, to meccas all in a day. Down here even the sun beats down on you differently. Life down here is so drastically different that ...

My GRAND ADVENTURE, the trip of a lifetime! Well I have traveled through half of my summer of purposeful placelessness and I have experienced so much. This trip has been more than I could have asked for. Transformations are beginning to take shape in me, I have seen and been captivated in ways that are hard to put into words, information has been absorbed, new experiences have been chased down. When friends ask me about my trip it is almost like a chore to begin, not because I dislike talking about it, rather that there is so much information to present to them. Feels, sights, sounds, connection... these are not easy to pass along via word of mouth (and I consider myself to be quite the orator!!!). However, in thinking about my travels and my wanderlust there is a part of my finding myself feeling immense gratitude for certain aspects of my "day-to-day" life. I always say this but the grass is not always greener. For clarification I am not saying that I want to be home or t...

The Odyssey, and folklore of the time, often depicts these mystical beings called  Sirens . These creatures demonstration special abilities as they were a symbol of lust and longing for explorers on the sea. Perched on rock formations, jutting out from the sea, these  Sirens  would lure men to them with a hypnotic song. Weary seamen would then seek out this beautiful song and would end up shipwrecked and marooned on a small island (if they were lucky). On a less morbid note, I view myself as responding and being in-tune with the  Sirens  call of the wild. My mind set differs from a large portion of my peers. The meal prepped week, 9-5 business day, and debt fumblings make me squeamish. There will always be time to build up your savings, but the time to explore is NOW. In fact, the time was yesterday. In this growingly globalized world we have access to limitless opportunities. To think about living in the confines of a land-locked system scare me.  So i...