Calvin Kung - The Flow Surrounding My Life

Throughout my reading of the American Camino by Professor Kip Redick, I have realized that what he defines as “flow,” provides me a new way to view what it means to truly self-reflect. His deep spiritual connections with the Appalachian Trail have allowed me to rethink what all my time spent outdoors hiking and biking with buddies truly was. Within Chapter 6, “Spiritual Rambling,” Professor Redick introduces the idea of “spiritual rambling” as a form of walking that is more than just a physical journey, and that it is a mindful, reflective practice. The act of walking becomes a mode of engaging with one’s inner life and the sacred, being more of s spiritual journey. To follow this up, Professor Redick reimagines the Appalachian Trail as a modern pilgrimage route for hikers, not only serving as a physical trail, but as participating in a ritual journey that echoes historical and spiritual quests for meaning, purpose, and transformation. His “spiritual rambling” differs vastly from what I have traditionally looked for in a hike, which is the beautiful landscape around you and a challenge for me and my buddies, but a search for inner emotional feeling and discovery. He explains this journey as one that allows a hiker to dig deeper within themselves, using their physical movements to support mental clarity and spiritual awareness, allowing hikers to both appreciate the physical surroundings, as well as allowing them to do some deep personal reflection.

Across my years of scouting, I have observed two very distinct things within my life that I grew to love unconditionally, being my time spent in the outdoors and my love for Christ. If you don’t know me, my name is Calvin Kung, and I achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in January of 2024. How I would explain my journey to the achievement of Eagle Scout within the Boy Scouts of America program would be one filled with guidance from peers, as well as a need to grow your fondness and familiarity with the outdoors. Throughout my time being a part of Troop 170, it consisted of a constant 20 - 30 scouts at a time, being one of the larger troops in our part of Fredericksburg. One of my first outdoor experiences as a Boy Scout was camping alongside the Rappahannock River back in March of 2015. It was a two-night camping trip, consisting of teaching us new scouts how to tie knots like the two half hitch, proper pocket knife etiquette, how to properly use an axe, and how to identify poisonous plants around our campsite. I didn’t think much about religion back then on those camping trips, focusing more on when we would be able to eat smores and play manhunt that day.

My mom takes a lot of the credit for my spiritual growth, pushing me to learn to love God early on in my life and to make sure that my relationship with him would last a lifetime. My dad, on the other hand, is not religious in the slightest. However, he also pushed me to grow my relationship with God, seeing that the morals being taught through Christianity were ones of great value. With all of this being said, most of my spiritual growth came from my mom’s connection with an organization called Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). Within this organization, I would serve a total of three school years and about a combined six weeks across six summers, spreading the gospel among my peers and growing in my spiritual faith. I had the chance to talk about the gospel to a small group of about fifteen kids in my school every Thursday, talking about the impact that Christ has had on the world, and what his message is to us. My favorite time spreading the gospel, however, definitely took place during the summer. It consisted of one week each summer, teaching a group of about ten eight to twelve-year-olds about how to play a sport, and what the word of God has to say to them. I don’t think that any amount of reading the Bible by itself could have brought me the spiritual growth that I received during those times of spreading the gospel, with it only being provided by the interactions I had with my peers.

During my last year of scouting and high school, I began to grow an immense appreciation for the outdoors, with my favorite trip being a twenty-mile total biking/backpacking trip to False Cape State Park which our Scout Troop went on back in 2022. This trip is truly special to me, as I was able to spend a lot of time with my dad. It was there that I learned that my dad wasn’t truly against the idea of a higher power, rather he is someone who required something to happen that would solidify the existence of a higher power, specifically God. One of the places that we visited within False Cape State Park was the remains of a church that was there. It was there that me and my dad talked about the possibility of a higher power, talking about what happened with your spirit after you died, and why people believe in Christ. It was then that I realized that I didn’t need physical proof that there was even a God and that believing that he was looking over me was enough for me to put my faith in him. I didn’t realize it back then, but I think me and my dad were “spiritually rambling” together. Riding at a calm pace and talking to him about faith might be one of my favorite experiences with my dad. I truly love my dad so much, and am so happy that he hasn’t completely disposed of a belief in God. He is one of the best people that I know, and I also believe that you do not have to be a Christian to be a good person, with him being the perfect example of a morally straight human being.

 

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