Live life without reservation

Last week, the Journal was notified that several staffers will be honored at the upcoming Washington Newspaper Publishers’ Association yearly awards banquet. Details were scarce, but the association did reveal the names of the recipients. For full details, you can check the blog.

The real story here is that Journal-published author Eric Fergen will win an award for his work at the yearly journalism convention this October. Eric passed away after a freak lakeside accident a year ago in July. The Journal covered the tragic story, and later published some of Eric’s work. Last spring, the Journal submitted Eric’s published article for professional review, and we were all thrilled to hear he will be honored posthumously for his work.

I thought it would be appropriate to re-run Eric’s column so those who didn’t read it before could catch it this time. Just to review, Eric hand-wrote this piece on the inside cover of a book he was reading while traveling. His family found it later and decided to share it with us. Here is Eric’s column as published in the August 22, 2006 edition of the Journal.
Eric Charge: Live life without reservation

There are moments in one's life that make you sit back
and think about what life is and what it truly means to
live a good life. I have come to one of those moments and
I have decided to document it here and now.
Life is too short to wander through it aimlessly, too
short to sit back and watch it pass you by only to wonder
what could have been.
Each and every one of us owes it to ourselves to grab
our life and take control of it, to own our life and to not let
it own us, for if you do, you are being untrue to yourself
and the life that God has granted you.
I say do what is in your heart, do what your mind tells
you to do, and don't think twice about it. You never know
when this life will be taken away from you; it can be here
today yet whisked away from you tomorrow.
This is why I say live life; actually live it for this is what truly will make you a happy person in life and in death
Do what you want to do; be who you want to be, go where you want to go and love who you want to love and don't think twice about it for if you worry about what might happen, then you have failed to see the truth, the truth that each person's life is unique and worth living to its fullest.
Some people will not see this way and will not know
what it is you mean; to these people, you must show them
the way. Show them how to live with no regrets, live with
no fear and live with a love for all things that have been
created.
Some people will still not understand what it is
you mean by this. To these people, you must say, "Open
your minds, and do not carry yourself so narrowly."
Truly open your eyes and look at the world around you,
it is more beautiful and more unique than you think.
Travel the world to help you earn a better understanding
of what life means and where it is you want your life to
go, for you are in control of your own destiny, you have
it by the reigns and no one can take those reigns out of
your grasp.
Wherever you are right now in this beautiful world, just
stop what you are doing and look around you. Look at the
people walking by you; look at the sky above you and the
earth beneath you. Look at the trees that grow and the
mountains with snow for they will put you at peace and
bring you to the realization that there is so much more
out there, so much more to be discovered and understood
and I charge you with the duty of doing so.

I hope you enjoyed Eric’s work as much as the Journal staff did. We’ll keep you posted on the details of the WNPA awards after results are announced in October.

Kevin Hulten writes the weekly Off the Record column and maintains the Off the Record blog at www.lakestevensjournal.com. Email comments and story suggestions to kevin.hulten@gmail.com.

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