Goblin Valley State Park, UT.
Not So Different
Because we all have so many differences, it can be difficult to notice the things we actually have in common. I learned a lot about these commonalities during my five-week tour of the American Southwest, especially by observing how people relate to one another in campgrounds.
I saw people sleeping in cheap tents, driving old beat up cars, camping right next to huge, expensive motorhomes that could easily be confused with Taylor Swift’s tour bus. In normal life these people would likely be separated by security cameras and a high fence, yet out in nature they warmly greeted one another as they stepped out into the crisp morning air to enjoy their coffee by the fire.
I witnessed a scruffy man sleeping tentless under the stars, kindly offer to share his campsite with a stranger driving what I’d estimate to be a $200k fully converted Mercedes 4X4 Sprinter Van, who wasn’t able to find an empty campsite of his own. It turns out that the scruffy man had just finished backpacking the 800 mile long Arizona Trail (AZT), and the stranger turned out to be the founder of Gossamer Gear, a company that specializes in high-end backpacking gear. With all the apparent differences in the world, they both share an overwhelming passion for backpacking.
There are many things in life that bring people together—music, art and food, for example—and I witnessed nature being a powerful one. Because regardless of how expensive or cheap their camping setup was, they all woke up to catch the same sunrise, they all pulled over to marvel at the same viewpoints, they all hiked the same trails and they all skipped rocks at the same lakes.
Once you strip away the noise, we are actually not so different.
“The differences that separate human beings are nothing compared to the similarities that bond us together.” -Sophie Gregoire Trudeau
