We were done. Aaron, Paul, and I had just trekked back to the Jeep as the Wyoming sunset burned across the western sky. As I dropped my pack in the seat I felt my back muscles relax. After six days of hiking my enthusiasm was about gone.
It had been an amazing trip. We had hiked and walked more than twenty five miles chasing some amazing animals. I met new friends and experienced new terrain. I was fulfilled, but exhausted.
As I sank into the backseat and breathed out a final sigh, my heart sank for Aaron sitting in front of me. We were out of time and even though we’d had plenty of opportunities during the week, we simply weren’t able to get him in position to take a good shot.
He was full hearted, but empty handed. I was beat and there was no doubt that by the time we made it back to civilization that my muscles would be as stiff as a statue.
We topped a rise and came around a bend when suddenly the Jeep lurched forward. Paul slammed on the brakes and shouted: “ANTELOPE!”
Aaron and I both turned in the direction that Paul was pointing. Moving at full speed only 400 yards out was a herd of twenty pronghorn. We caught them just before they disappeared behind a hill.
In the blink of an eye Aaron was out of the car, gun in one hand, binoculars in the other, running full speed up the sharp incline. This just might have been the moment he’d been waiting for all week. If he could get to the top of the rise he may have a chance at the lead buck as the herd came around the other side.
I’m not really sure what happened next. I sat staring out the window at Aarons tall frame scaling the rocks in a hurried ascent. Then something snapped. Before my mind could really catch up to my body I was moving. I bailed out of the backseat and took off after Aaron. It was as if his adrenaline was contagious and, even though my body was spent, I was flying up the side of the hill before I knew it. Within seconds I crested the hill and caught one last glimpse of the herd as it ran into the sunset.
Aaron never got his shot that day, but that quick contact with the thundering herd left me thinking.
All week long we had walked. We had diligently planned our routes to conserve calories. We had been intentional in our steps as we climbed on the steep, snow covered, rocky slopes. We had crouched and crawled as we approached overlooks and drop-offs in an attempt to catch the herd off guard. Almost every move we’d made all week had been calculated. But in the blink of an eye, when the adrenaline was flowing, there was no time for calculating… only action.
There are moments in which you must be calculated and cautious as you walk through life. In fact, the majority of the time, when you move through life with intentionality rather than impulse you will achieve more. There are, however, times in life when you have to just RUN!
The question is, will you be ready for those moments? Do you know your passion well enough to sense when the moment is right and seize a great opportunity and experience something amazing?
Keep walking. Keep being intentional. But be ready to run when the time is right. One quick burst may be all you need to seize an opportunity and find the fulfillment you are chasing.