Grand Canyon

– Zev Schulman

First we left the hotel. The vibes were up because we were going to the Grand Canyon. If I’m being honest, I didn’t know what to expect. I have seen pictures and have heard about the Grand Canyon, but I have never been. I was thinking about how special and cool can a canyon be? Well, the first step onto the platform was truly amazing. What I was expecting is not what I saw. It was truly beautiful, and I understood why Billy said the Grand Canyon lives up to its hype. It just felt like the other side would be impossible to reach. I have seen many things in my life. I have been to Iceland, Colorado, and Alaska. The Grand Canyon matched all the beautiful places I have been in my life, and our little joke added to it. We walked through the trees and stayed mostly in the shade. The sun was refreshing, and the wind was always blowing. Walking near a ledge made it even more exciting. When we finally reached the end of our trail, Billy explained how meditation could be. He then let us go off for a couple of minutes, allowing us an opportunity to take everything in and meditate. I found a comfortable spot in the sun and then sat there and just listened. I listened to what my mind had to say. I listened to what the noises around me were. Listening to the wind travel through the canyon sounded like a raging river. Then all of a sudden, it would go away, and everything would be dead silent. Looking out into the canyon and thinking about how small I am compared to it. Looking out into the canyon and realizing how easily anyone could get lost in the canyon. It was a very peaceful two minutes, and I even wish we could have done it longer.

 

 

We then hopped back on the bus to head back to Utah, got some Chinese food, and then ended up back at the hotel to watch the “I Am” documentary Billy had been preaching about for a day. I was again questioning how a documentary could be so special that one could watch it over and over. Well, he turned it on, and it kept giving me different perspectives as it went on. If I was in Tom’s (the director) shoes, I’m not sure I would have thought the same way about the world as he did. It was inspiring to see someone with so much, yet one bad experience made him discover more about the world. The different people he met and the brilliance in their ideals were amazing to watch. Then, in the end, it was amazing to see how he gave up on his riches and went smaller as he realized he was part of the cancer infecting the world. He was actually living proof of being the change you want to see. That’s not something many people would do, and it was truly amazing. Then Billy mentioned that he had a surprise, and again for the third time, I was like, how cool can this surprise actually be? I saw Billy’s computer on Zoom and immediately knew what was happening. We were able to meet with the maker of the film, Tom Shadyac.  The meeting with Tom Shadyac made everything he said in the documentary much more real. It was amazing to hear from him and another one of his stories about his work with Memphis Rox.