Starting Over.

Starting over again…

And again…

    This blog began in 2017 with the concepts of peaking physically and mentally at 70+; of rediscovering self, culture and country; and of being resilient and overcoming the inevitable adversities and obstacles that come with aging.

    Little did I realize how quickly, and to what extent, those latter adversities and obstacles would impact me. Nor did I anticipate, when I wrote that Peaking is “about paradigm shifts, destroying preconceived limits and reaching for the high ground,” that a major source of the setbacks would be arrogant beliefs and adherence to mainstream medical protocols. Within four months of summitting Mt. Baker, those protocols nearly cripple me; a bit over a year later they landed me in the hospital trembling and in severe pain. These incidents reveal not just personal tribulations, but also a clandestine cultural shift that is affecting every aspect and facet of American life.

    And now starting over includes Starting Over In The Age Of Covid-19. It includes a fight against a litany of new false-narratives, combat against more rabid Year Zero proponents, and a war to retain our cultural memory. More on this later… or see below: Aaron’s Thesis: When Atlas Can No Longer Shrug, Freedom Is An Illusion from DEMISE: A novel of race, culture wars, and falling darkness just published by Warriors Publishing Group.

    In the darkest hours of these past three years, starting over included this thought:

It is yet dark. The pain has not let up. My mind is stuck on a thought, a prayer: Where is the big bear when you need to be eaten?

Then came first light—again and again. Dreary grayness giving way to a glint of pink. then to doom-splitting red orange. Arise. Start over…

Peaking At 70 was not a bucket list, nor was it ever about climbing or physical training, though the latter have been major and joyous elements. P@70 was and is about peaking physically and mentally. It’s about challenges, discoveries, and rediscovering self, culture and country. We are in a period of paradigm shifts—some good, some not so good; in a period of destroying not just perceived limits and reaching for the high ground, but of needing to protect reality, truth, and our history.

We are in an age where story (narrative) changes more quickly than ever before, has deeper penetration into society than ever before,and can be altered more quickly than ever before. What is unchanged from before is that ambient cultural story has ramifications.

Peaking is not just about what, but it is about how, and why, and who.What needs to b done that can be done? How do we do this? Why should we? Who will come along on the journey with us?

Peaking has had multiple meanings: climbing Mounts Shasta (almost…14,180’), Baker (10,781’ — watch video of the Mt. Baker climb here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0slD-jQr8w, Red Lake Peak, Mt Mitchell; but the project was and is about so much more.

For much too long our cultural conversations have been framed by boxes that box out vast parts of verifiable data, information, and processes. These omissions are ubiquitous: from main stream medical protocols and the healthcare debate, to race, to culture. Omissions causing skewing of not just specific local or personal actions, but of our ambient cultural story. From Aaron’s thesis: Story controls behavior by controlling self-image and world view. From that perspective, think about what happens when story is corrupted.

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As the New York Times bestselling author of The 13th Valley and other works of fiction and non-fictions, I had plan a new book, more consistent blog, feature articles, and a video or two about hitting new physical and mental heights. Adversities and obstacles quashed the videos and much more. Nearly three years of false starts! But some work was accomplished: DEMISE: A novel of race, culture wars, and falling darkness has just been published.

About the journey to rediscover America: In 2017 I had hoped to visit old friends all across the country, to chat with them about family and future. But so much has changed. Now to rediscover America means we must seek to understand what’s pulling us apart, and what is needed to heal the nation’s soul.

Let’s probe the current condition of our nation’s psyche—from a novelist's eye, examining who we are, after decades of simmering turmoil, and during these new upheavals. Certainly we have a lot to look at and to talk about.

Images provided by Wild Perspectives Photography

AARON’S THESIS

How does one rediscover self? More importantly, how does one rediscover this land from sea to shining sea? As The Journey gets underway follow us on social media, read the Peaking at 70 blog, Let's Talk America, and look for our interim articles, commentary,

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THE STORE

Are you ready to go up high? To accept the challenge? To consider new perspectives and paradigm shifts? A 70+ year old guy doesn’t peak glaciers at 14,000 feet, or make a documentary without some help (Meet the Team). Support the trek to rediscovery—visit the Peaking At 70 store for books, and more.

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