walk forrest, walk!

I get angry sometimes. well, lets be honest, i get angry a lot. i tend to yell at people and inanimate objects even though i know they can't hear me. driving is a whole separate issue and there have been multiple times where i've debated trading in my car because it seems like public transportation makes me less angry than driving. i stress myself out about things that are so trivial compared to the finer things in life. and then i read stories about Steve Vaught. Steve has lived one of my greatest nightmares...killing two elderly people with his automobile 15 years ago. i often wonder how people deal with something like that. Steve chose to eat. so much that he gained 150 pounds in the first 3 years after the accident. he went from a muscular marine to a morbidly obese 410 pound man who could not walk across a department store without getting winded. 15 years later Steve decided to do something about it in order to lose the weight and get his life back. he took 6 months off of work, meaning 6 months of no pay while his family struggled to make ends meet. his goal was simply to walk across the country. starting in oceanside, CA and ending in NYC. well it took a little longer than expected and 13 months later and over 100 pounds lighter Steve arrived in NYC. Steve did something that most of us are unable to do, he stopped feeling sorry for himself and did something about it. and now he has the priviledge of saying "yeah, i was feeling pretty bleak, but that walk across the country sure did wonders for me." Steve reminds us that life is about the risks, taking them is the only way we grow and move on. Steve reminds me that getting angry and annoyed about the small things is just dumb and that maybe i should use that energy toward something more proactive. i mean after all if a 410 pound man can walk across the country in a little over a year i'm sure i too can redirect my minor problems with everyday life (but i would like to add that i still think emersing yourself in a human sized goldfish bowl is a waste of energy).