CURRENT MISSION

Experience, feel and learn as much as I can

ABOUT ME

I'm a pretty laid back guy, easy to get along with. If you want to be deep and philosophical I can do that, but if you want to dance around and act like an idiot I'd love to do that too.

I love traveling and exploring, either the outdoors or new cities and cultures I'm unfamiliar with. I think connection is a very important thing, either with nature or the person sitting across from me at the dinner table. The times I feel connected to the world around me tend to be the best times.

I have a strong desire to make the world a better place, and to this point in life pursuing that desire has led to some of the most memorable and meaningful experiences of my life. My ideas and applications of compassion change throughout life, and I'm excited to where it leads me next.

I'm an extroverted person who loves to get to know other people. I find other people and their stories fascinating. Still, after a few days of being around others I very much enjoy a hike by myself or a night spent away from everyone. Like everything else in life it's all about balance!

Read my references, or better yet meet me, if you really want to get to know me =D

PHILOSOPHY

If you think about your great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-(you get the idea)-grandpa, he was probably some dude kickin it in some forest. Out of the millions of beautiful cavewomen running around, one in particular caught his eye, and they fell for each other and made love. Then, out of the billions of possible children that could've been made through their genetics, a child was born who became your great-great-great-great-great-(you get the idea)-grandma. The chances of that life to be produced is incomprehensibly small. After hundreds of generations of incomprehensibly small possibilities coming together to create a human life, you were born. The fact that you or I are here is a miracle of such magnitude that it can only be matched by the miracle of all other forms of life on the planet. It is our responsibility to cultivate our talents to the fullest, and relieve the suffering of those who's gift of life has become a burden.

Most of the mysteries of the world can be summed up in four simple words.
Love and be loved.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I host when possible, and think surfing is the best way to really experience a place when you travel.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Couchsurfing has only led to positive things in my life

Interests

Hiking, camping, reading, writing, meditating, social issues, talking

• writing
• dancing
• running
• reading
• traveling
• blogging
• outdoor activities
• hiking
• camping
• surfing
• genealogy
• rivers

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies
Clockwork Orange, Mojave Phonebooth, Sin City, Golden Door, Dr. Strangelove.

Books
Catch-22, anything by the Dalai Lama, travel books.

Music
Bright Eyes, Bela Fleck, Phish, Moe, Railroad Earth, Nickel Creek, Iron and Wine, Avett Brothers, Fleet Foxes, Mumford and Sons, Yonder Mountain String Band

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Week-long rafting trips down the San Juan and Colorado rivers.Or if you're inclined for longer stories, check out my little travel blog from my time in Nepal and India! www.indiadoug.blogspot.com

Teach, Learn, Share

I don't like the word teach, it suggests one person is superior to another. Something I'd like to share (And this is probably pretty obvious) is that EVERYONE has some good qualities and some interesting aspect to themselves. If you're turned off by someone when you first meet them, then just try and get to know them better. They will surely have something to offer you, and you'll have something to offer them.I guess what I want to learn is what is out there in the world. I'm still pretty young, and I just know that there are so many possibilites, ideas and ways of life in the world that I'm clueless about. Haha, I suppose I'd like to reduce my cluelessness to a small extent.

Countries I’ve Visited

Fiji, India, Nepal, New Zealand

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States