December 02, 2019

Because Your Dream Matters

December 02, 2019/ Erik Orton

by ERIK ORTON

Have you ever felt your dreams being shut down, from lack of time, money, your physical surroundings, your physical condition or even just someone’s opinion? Have you ever resented obligations to work, friends or even your own family? Have you ever felt guilty for resenting those obligations?

If so, you’re not alone. I’ve said yes to every one of these questions at various points in my life. I’d love to share what I’ve learned, and continue to learn, about why our dreams matter.

September 07, 2018

30 Years to Finland

September 07, 2018/ Erik Orton

by ERIK ORTON

It’s been 30 years since I’ve been to Finland. My mother is Finnish. She moved to NYC at age seventeen to be a nanny. A few years later she met my dad and they got married. I’m half Finnish. I used to spend summers in Finland as a kid. My last summer there I was fourteen. My mom worried I would be bored spending all day in my grandmothers two-bedroom/one bath apartment, so she signed me up for a cycling race. I was big into cycling at the time.

May 24, 2018

Wendy and the Surface

May 24, 2018/ Erik Orton

by ERIK ORTON

My favorite part of the class was to lay on the ocean floor and stare up at the surface. The light shimmered across it, the same way the water sparkled from above, but with a muted, quiet kind of beauty. I was taking a scuba certification class and I was swimming along thirty feet below the ocean’s surface for the first time in my life. My body drifted with the surge in unison with the school of yellow fish. I looked a sea turtle in the eye as it swam toward me. We stayed below for the better part of an hour. I was in another world.

May 02, 2018

Connecting the Dots

May 02, 2018/ Erik Orton

by ERIK ORTON

El Capitan is 3,000 feet tall, the largest single monolith of granite on the planet. Climbers come from around the world to attempt an ascent. It rises straight up from the Yosemite Valley Floor and dominates everything else. The most prominent line runs straight up what’s called The Nose, the corner where the East and West walls meet. This is what I wanted to climb.