Reg Green: To Thine Own Self Be True

Reg Green (Photo – Emma Shupper)

Many of you know Reg Green as the founder of the Nicholas Green Foundation for organ donation… or maybe as the well-regarded economic journalist… but I have come to know and learn about a very special aspect of Reg, one that can only be unlocked and understood on the trails in the hills behind La Cañada.

By Emma Shupper

This brave, capable, strong, kind-hearted, honest, and humble 91-year-old man has touched and inspired those around him in ways that words cannot begin to describe and in ways that exceed those of his Foundation.

Reg travels on uncharted territory every day, facing the world with courage and open arms, hiking every morning with his boots and poles, at dawn before the rest of the world begins its day. Reg has found solace, companionship, and the ability to physically and metaphorically “overcome his own limitations” when hiking, allowing his mind to flow freely and to truly live the metaphor found in climbing mountains and “facing the elements.” Reg finds hiking to be “liberating,” recalling that he never went anywhere without his hiking boots at any time in his life.

We as individuals are not one thing and Reg has shown this piece of himself – his heart, his passion, his love, and his pure spirit – every morning when others on the trail see him climbing these mountains and fighting for those he loves and cares for through the alignment of his words and his actions.

With every step that Reg takes and every smile that Reg gives, he leaves an imprint and the reminder to embody your core values. For him, this means to always be honest with yourself and with others, to always seek and discover the truth, to be grateful, to be loyal, to share and to listen, to embrace the many parts of yourself and the world, and most importantly, to continue to be true to yourself… which happens to be his daily mantra – “To thine own self be true.”

Emma Shupper, a former mechanical engineer, is a personal trainer and business owner with passion for helping others find meaning and clarity in their lives through the integration of movement, intuitive eating, and mindfulness.

Reg Green (Photo – Martin Green)