📍Matagorda, Texas

I sit at the mouth of the Colorado at dawn, cup of coffee in hand. 70 years ago, my mom picked cotton just a few miles inland. By chance, she met a young physics professor who was traveling through. Two days later they were engaged, and not long after, I arrived.

I grew up fishing these fertile bays. Wide open spaces will taint you—they make it hard to sit in a cubicle for hours on end. I was always a good thinker, but bad employee.

So I faked it, and made it—all the way to the top… then punched out. I returned to the wild, though I’ve traded salt water for mountain air.

I am the parable of the fisherman and the businessman, the point of which is:

⭕️ Success isn’t a line, it’s a circle.

We spend our lives chasing—money, status, things, fleeting pleasures—only to find that a hamster wheel has no end, it just spins faster.

Ironically, the simple life we long for was always available to us. The few who step off the hamster wheel—choosing less—complete the circle.

In the song Society, Eddie Vedder sings:

Leveling down isn’t a popular concept in modern society. We’re told to level up—to keep chasing more.

How’s that working out for you?

As I sip my coffee, a bottlenose dolphin surfaces and breaks the early morning silence with a puff of air. I’m the sole witness to this magical moment—it’s a peak experience that can’t be bought. My wife and daughters are steps away, sound asleep. I’ll finish writing these words, then we’ll spend the day wandering old haunts.

Everything I need is right here. It always was. ⭕️

P.S. This piece was very personal for me. If you enjoyed it, would you do me the favor of a comment or repost on X?

All the best,

Kevin (@camp4) 🤙

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600 1st Ave, Ste 330 PMB 92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2246
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