Just When I Thought My Faith in Humanity Couldn't Get Any Lower...It Didn't

To say the last month of my life has been tumultuous is a bit of an understatement. One month ago today I was celebrating the 4th of July taking pictures like the one above in San Francisco. I was there with the person I thought I loved more than anyone in the world. In the middle of the longest relationship of my life (10 1/2 months, don't applaud me on that). We were on day 4 of what was the biggest trip of both our lives. We had already been to the Grand Canyon and Yosemite and would be headed to Redwoods next. For the first time in my life I thought I had it all together and everything was right with the world.

This morning, one month later, I sat atop Camelback Mountain in Phoenix, alone. The relationship deteriorated the first day we were back from the trip. The "pressure" from the real world caused her to break a promise I had told her before would end things between us. The back and forth over the last few weeks has been mentally fatiguing. And let's not forget the generally horrific current events coverage lately and the most disgusting election cycle I've ever had the displeasure of watching. Throw in hearing these two comments on my way up the mountain:

"It's like my father always said: 'Earning your first million is tough, but wait until you try to turn it into five'."

And even more annoying for reasons I can't quite put my finger on:

"My bro over at Goldman took a new job with (don't remember the name). He's making bank."

All of this had rocked my overall faith in humanity.

I sat on top of the mountain for about a half hour, staring down at the city below wondering how did my life come to this. There wasn't the usual excitement I felt when I get to the top of one of the toughest trails in the area. There wasn't a relief and an exhale and pure happiness to be done with that part of the challenge. I sat quietly staring down and mentally repeating the phrase, "How did it get to this?" How did I go from happy and in love to alone on top of a mountain and single? Why do people just generally suck?

Sadly, there were no satisfactory answers to any of those questions today. I started back down the mountain, a trip I've made many times before. After only about 100 yards down, I tried to take a sideways step down when my ankle gave out from under me and I tumbled down. Thankfully, I didn't damage any other part of my body than the ankle. But I knew I heard a pop and I couldn't put my weight on it. For those who do not know, I'm not exactly a little guy (hence my currently ignored weight loss blog).

I was amazed at how the activity on the mountain just came to a complete stop. I looked around at at least a dozen hikers who had all paused their hikes just to see if someone they didn't know and had no reason to care about was alright. Even when I stood up and began to start trying to move again, they stayed and kept watch. This alone would have been enough to help restore a little faith, but then a group of hikers did something so kind I will remember it forever. One of the men took the ankle brace that he had been wearing off and told me to put up my foot. This man took the time to wrap the brace around the sweaty sock of a stranger he had never met in his life and will probably never meet again. While he did that the other man with him begin to say a prayer for me to get back down the mountain safely. I'm not a religious man, but this gesture was so moving to me. It reminded me there are so many people out there who care about others even when there is no benefit in doing so.

As I made my way down the mountain, the pain was excruciating. I hobbled and butt-slid and grabbed every fence or railing I could. Along the way so many people stopped to check on me to make sure I was okay. They didn't push past or get mad when I would hold them up on sections by moving at a snail's pace. Even though I was alone I had so much support.

The attitude of people in the hiking/nature loving community is something I've really only seen replicated in one other shared interested group: runners. When I used to do organized runs or morning or evening exercise runs, you rarely see an angry person. There is usually a smile and a hello when two runners pass each other. You will not find a place full of happier people than the finish line or after party area of any organized run. There is such an amazing feeling of positivity in these crowds you can't help but be happy. The same can be said for hikers and nature lovers. I've never visited a monument or hiked a national park without getting many happy hellos or good mornings, most accompanied with a big smile.

This is not something you find in many other walks of life these days. As an example, I watched the Democratic National Convention and the Republican National Convention on Facebook live feeds. I was disgusted by the comments that flowed in on both. The walls of these forums were filled with some of the most hateful and vile things I could imagine from people attacking the opposing party. Let's just say it did not make me proud to be an American, or honestly a human, when I saw what things are coming to in the name of political discourse. This is being replicated in all kinds of other areas. Check out sports message boards, opinion pages, or gossip sites. The trolls have been given a medium for their voice and they are using it.

Contrast that with what I see in the nature related Facebook groups I have joined. Everything I have posted has been met with positive feedback. No one attacks my writing skills or criticizes me for failing to proofread (which does happen often). Trolling and nature loving seem to be mutually exclusive lifestyle choices. I think this is what I saw play out in the physical world today. It could not have come at a more needed time.

Thank you, Good Samaritans.