[at-l] New Topic Trail Related

[Bror8588 at aol.com (Bror8588@aol.com)]

There are those who think that being saved means from something like a  fire, 
or a storm at sea, or from falling off a mountain -- a rescue, in other  
words.
 
But I am a Philatelist and I save stamps and while the stamps are saved  from 
destruction I save then FOR my collection.  In that sense many have  the 
understanding that being saved is for a purpose.  "Saved to serve" is a  motto of 
one group of Christians.  Saved from being a couch-potato to  becoming a hiker 
may be understandable.
 
What were you saved from?  A dull boring job with no meaning to  becoming a 
Thru-hiker thereby learning how to be self-sufficient and capable of  making 
plans to be a success, is another form of being saved.  Saved from a  
meaningless relationship with people who shy away from risk to being a person  who goes 
out into wild country and survives several nights in succession with no  store 
or TV, car, or entertainment except to see the stars, the flora and at  times 
the fauna of the wooded areas, to climb mountains and overcome  temperatures 
of heat and cold, to risk meeting others who are risk  takers and converse 
with people of varying degrees of social status from very  poor to very rich with 
no mention of either and having only the concept and  solidarity of doing 
something that 99 percent of society does not have any idea  about, and enjoying 
the comaraderie in the woods.
 
Being saved for something gives a better (to my mind at least) internal  
confidence than being saved from something unknown for no one has ever come back  
from the beyond to tell us what is there.  Being saved for something gives  
purpose and meaning to life in the here and now.  
 
Take a hike!
 
Skylander Jack