We were on our way home from the ocean last week when a Subaru with a rooftop tent passed us going over Tiger Mountain. I remember thinking as it did, ‘I’ve never been jealous of rooftop tents.’ They seem like they’d be a hassle, they’re a big box on top of a car, and in the grand ol’ Pacific Northwest they’d quickly become mold traps. Granted I’ve never used one like this once-skeptical Adventure Journal author has done. Maybe they’re awesome. To each their own, of course.
What I was jealous of were all those folks with campervans. So last summer, after months of looking, K and I scored an old tile van which we spent a few months of Type II fun building that thing into our camper. We roll up somewhere and boom! Instant camp.
This got me thinking though as we chugged through the mountains that day. What else had I been jealous of and how has it played out? Case in point: a few years ago as part of the Outdoor Industry Association’s leadership program, I was jealous of the guy putting on our big retreat. That would be really cool, I told myself. So on the airplane home from that event, I hatched a plan that eventually became Sendline.
Rightly so, I realize jealousy can have a bad rap. It can also lead to a lot of unproductive feelings. That day last week however I was thinking of how it’s motivated me (so maybe ‘admire’ is a better word, but I’m sticking with jealous). I’m going to give it some more thought. Also, I’ll be on the lookout for that feeling again to see how it can kick my butt into doing something else cool.
