Closing Out 2016 with a Helping of Gratitude

I've learned over the years that making too big of a fuss over the yearly transition that occurs on New Year's Eve and making radical changes entering the next year with broad overarching resolutions is not the best way for me to manage my life.  That said, it's clear that there's value in using this time to reflect on how the last three hundred and sixty five days have unfolded, and how those days have shaped my life.

The Beginning of the End of 2016 - New Years Eve Sunrise - Severna Park, MD

As I reflect on the last year, I find myself contemplating with gratitude the growth, adventure, and opportunities that have presented themselves during the last twelve months.  First and foremost, I'm grateful for life.  Every morning that I wake up indicates to me that the universe is not quite done with me yet. That may sound a bit dramatic, but every night about one million people go to bed and don't wake up the next morning. We live on a little blue rock hurtling through the vacuum of space, protected by a thin veneer of nitrogen, oxygen, and other gasses, and it's far to easy for the great powers that govern our universe to snuff out an individual.  I don't think getting another day, for anyone, is an accident or a coincidence. I've led a life of great wealth with a dash of challenge and adventure thrown in, and I'm grateful for it.  This year was not my best walking year, but I was given the opportunity to cover over 1,300 miles on foot and the benefits I've gotten from that alone have been breathtaking.

Fellow Sunchasers - Severn River - Annapolis, MD

I am grateful for my family and friends who have proven to be a wellspring of support during m journey through the preceding fifty two weeks. They put up with my pedestrian antics, and they help keep me (mostly) grounded. Rory Conlan has been a true partner and fellow traveller, and though he keeps his presence brief on this blog, I can assure you that as of about an hour ago he was still among the living.

Sunset Sentinels - Quiet Waters Park - Annapolis, MD

I am grateful for good books that I've read because they've given me dreams to chase and opened my mind to opportunities that I'd never imagined. The book that most shaped my life during the past year was Everything That Remains by Joshua Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus. These guys write about there experiences in minimalism, but for me their common sense philosophy has enabled not only a better and more sustainable physical existence but pointed down and intellectual and emotional path that is less cluttered and more focused. This has opened me up to some a more spiritual existence and promises more progress in the coming year as well.

There's an endless number of other things to be grateful for, but I'll end the more detailed descriptions here. Suffice it to say that I've lived a rich and adventurous existence during 2016, and while I don't know what tomorrow (much less the whole of 2017) will hold, I'm looking forward with excitement to the opportunities that remain to be unveiled.

If things work out as planned, the detailed planning and preparations for the N2N-TCP will start ramping up in earnest over the next three hundred sixty five days, one day at a time of course, and I'm looking forward to that journey with eager anticipation.

Catching a Sunrise

One of the disadvantages with the winter season is that the sunrise is late enough that my current day job interferes with my ability to watch it unfold, and I have a meeting with friends early on the weekends that makes catching it a challenge as well.  If I play my cards right, there's basically a few weeks out of the season that I can catch the dawn if I'm quick and lucky.

Today was one of those days.

Dawn - Greenbury Point - Annapolis, MD

Back in a darker part of my past, I'd never even really consider trying to catch the sunrise.  I'd be either commuting to a job a didn't particularly like or sleeping in on a weekend.  I'm grateful that some things happened to jolt me out of that rut.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow and the boundless opportunity that a new day represents. I might even have a chance to catch the dawn kicking off a good Monday.

Consolidation Period

Have you ever felt like you've fallen into a rut and things don't seem like they're progressing very much?  I think it happens to all of us, and this situation used to create quite a bit of anxiety in my life. Since I started the "Daily Practice," I've come to understand that these periods of apparent stagnation generally represent a consolidation period.  Progress is being made, even if it's not apparent to me that it's happening.

To explain this belief, I guess I have to go back a bit and let you in on some of my underlying assumptions. The chief assumption I make is that no matter what's happening, the universe will conspire with you to make you successful.  Actually, the universe is always working with you for your success, but it will conspire with you if you let it.  To conspire with the universe you only have to have two things. You have to be willing to listen, and you have be a little bit patient.

Earlier in my life, my chief problems came about because I wasn't listening, and I definitely wasn't very patient.  Oh, I told myself I was open minded and had the patience of Job, but the reality was I'd shut myself off from the opportunities the universe was bringing to me and I was chafing at the bit for things to happen along a timeframe that I'd determined was right and proper.

The Universe Speaks - Anacostia River Sunrise - Washington, DC

I'd shut myself off from any suggestions that were being communicated my way, and I was following my own path with my own timeline.  That's a hard row to hoe, and fortunately for me, the universe in it's wisdom has taken me down from my towering ignorance and arrogance a notch or two.  In the last four years, I've been forced to admit I had a serious behavioral problem, we suffered the death of a child, I missed a promotion, and we were evicted from a very comfortable housing situation through no fault of our own.  I'm hard headed it seems, so it took quite a bit to wake me up to reality. The universe progressed from the kind whisper it normally uses to direct our lives to a full throated scream. It also woke me up, and I'm fortunate that through the work of folks like James Altucher, I'm in the middle (the foggy middle) of coming out of the end of my previous experience.  

During this middle a foggy phase of a transition, I've found that there are periods of consolidation.  They don't last long, and if I don't give up (the daily practice helps with that) I find that the universe has been working in the background on things that needed to line up that if I listen will conspire with me to make me successful.

I don't know what the outcome of all this is going to be, but I know that if I'm patient and I listen there will be opportunities presented to me that I have not yet been able to even imagine.

Strengthening Connections

I've come to believe over the last several years, the our individualism is largely an illusion.  We're all in this together, and we really are one...or at least progressing to that state.  As such, we are all at least connected. It's the spiritual version of six degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon.

We Are All Stardust, and We Are All Connected - Severn River - Annapolis, MD

In spite of the truth of connectedness being a tenet of major religions and empirically certain through science, given a sufficiently complete time history, we culturally seem to believe that there is something real and tangible between individuals that must be overcome through the complex social interactions we've developed over the years.

I've been writing "letters to the universe" for the last couple of months, and I received a reply to one of these letters on the same day that I sent the sixty first letter off into the wild.  Someone actually took the time to write back! I cannot tell you the joy that the strengthening of the connection between us has brought to me, and I'm grateful that the person took the time to read my initial "anonymous" letter and write back.

The true bond between us has strengthened a touch, and today, I wrote back because this bold individual expressed a hope that I would take the time and continue a conversation.

I don't know where all this is going, but I can tell you that I'm looking forward to the building adventure that seems to coalescing around me.  We'll see what tomorrow brings, but if it brings anything at all, I'll be grateful for the experience.

The N2N-TCP is My Dream

Over the weekend, I recommitted to working even harder toward making the Newport to Newport Transcontinental Pilgrimage a reality.  I've been sand bagging the distances I've been walking.  Sure, I've still been dabbling around, but ever since I broke my foot in January, I've been using excuses more than I've been using my feet.

A year from now, I am committing to complete the distance required to achieve the Nike Running+ Volt Level.  I'm two thirds of the way there, and I've got to average just about ten miles a day to get there, but the commitment feels right.

Yesterday, the universe seemed to agree.

Alone with the Gods and a Fiery Sky - Severn River, MD

I don't know what tomorrow will bring, and I think I'm facing a significant challenge. That being said, I've reconnected with my calling and I'm going to do what it takes to do it.

Chasing the Sun

I don't remember if I've addressed this aspect of training for the N2N-TCP, but one of the things that I did not expect during the course of this journey was my transformation into a being that chases the sun.

Fall Sunfall - Anacostia River - Southeast Washington, DC

I've been constrained on my walking, but the training that happens centers on chasing the sun. I draw energy from the glory of the universe displayed on the canvas of the sky almost every day of the year. Sure, sometimes there are clouds, rain, snow, or fog, but even these events are tempered and softened by the closing of the day because the closing comes with the implicit promise of another opportunity just around the corner.


I'm not sure what's going to happen tomorrow, but I know that I'll still be chasing the sun.

More Airborne

Yesterday was a pretty sparse day on pictures. Given those constraints, I'll give you something I caught on 20 November.  I'll get something fresher for the next post, but I love the freedom and adventure that travel represents and air travel is the ultimate symbol that's easily accessible for me.


Enjoy!

Airborne over North Florida

I don't know what tomorrow will bring.  I hope it's some rest, but if not, I'm as ready as I can be for what's to come. Cheers!

Back in the Mid-Atlantic Area

Last night I headed back from Alabama on my way to the Mid-Atlantic region. I was blessed to fly through Miami on the way back.




Topping South Beach on Final - Miami, FL



The nightlife appeared to be ramping up as we passed over South Beach Miami on final, and it was good to stop off in a location that boasted sixty seven degree weather at 10 pm in November.


It's good to be back and get back in the grind at work, and I'm looking forward to finding out what tomorrow will reveal.  I'm facing some challenges, and I'm hoping to move down the path toward resolution in the next day or so.  I have faith that, although I don't see how this situation can possibly lead to a particularly happy outcome, the universe is conspiring to make me successful if I'm willing to put in the effort.


Until then....

Saltwater Sunset

Sunset at sea is a broadening experience

Gulf of Mexico

Looking forward to tomorrow.

Long Day Wrapped Up

Today was a pretty long day, but it ended in the same place that yesterday ended.

End of Day - Mobile, AL

It was a little earlier, a little more colorful, and compared to yesterday it was similar. That's life. Similar but never the same. Every moment is an act of creation, and realizing that through the last year of daily practice is one of the most mind opening experiences I've ever encountered.

I hope it doesn't take you six thousand miles out on the trail to come to this realization, but if that's what it takes it's worth it. 

Till tomorrow and the next fourteen hundred and forty minutes of creativity.

Never Underestimate the Power of Resilience

I'm just wrapping up a pretty long but productive day, and my current bill paying job managed to stretch itself to thirteen hours.  When I first got out of school and entered the workforce, I'm pretty sure I would not have considered a thirteen hour day on a weekend a stunning example of successful living.

Productive Day Finale - Mobile, AL

I've been seasoned by life a bit since then, and part of that seasoning involves recognizing the value of tenacity, resilience, and good old fashioned grit when it comes to being successful.  Thirteen hour days on the weekend are success in the making sometimes, and being able to appreciate those moments for what they are and what they represent will make up for all manner of talent, smarts, and ability advantages of other folks who just aren't willing to grind quite as hard as you might be willing to grind.

Hard, disciplined work is not a great equalizer. It's a great advantage. Hard work is success going through the crucible, and it's facilitated by appreciating and enjoying what you do.

Sometimes, at the end of the grind, the universe will send you a sign that it's all been worth the sweat and focus that you've put toward the task.

I'm not sure what's going to be revealed by the new day tomorrow, but I know it's gonna start early and I'm ready for the grind.

Back On The Road

I'm back on the road again, and truth be told I'm enjoying it. Selling a final product to a tough customer is just around the corner during my day job, and I really relish this type of think on your feet challenge.  It's gonna be epic.

Final Approach into Charlotte, NC

I've been listening to a biography of Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance.  It's a great book, and I think it provides an excellent feel for the highly competitive and technical nature of the work that Mr. Musk and his companies are currently tackling. 

Musk's way of working bears a striking similarity to the description of the way that Hymen Rickover  worked on the nuclear navy as related by Theodore Rockwell, related in his biography of the Admiral.

I sense that the effort associated with the N2N-TCP is somehow related to this high tech pursuit of conquering the challenges associated with surviving on planets or celestial bodies other than Earth for long periods of time.  I don't know how they relate, but the inkling is there for me.

I don't know how any of this will shake out tomorrow, but I'm looking forward to finding out.

Look What I Found in the Library

Preparing for a thirty three hundred mile walk involves quite a bit of time out on the trail, but that's not the only consideration.  Today, I took some time in the local library to access some of the experience of the people who have gone before me in this same sort of endeavor.

I really like to read, but compared to some I'm a bit of a piker.  Jim Stavridis is an avid reader, and he's suggested that there are thirty five hundred years of history so there really is no excuse to make the same mistakes as folks who have come before us. That dovetails nicely with my "philosophy" of always trying to make new mistakes. To that end, in preparation for the pilgrimage I find myself in the nearest branch of the county library.

Look What I Found at the County Library - Annapolis, MD

This has been a busy travel month for me, and tomorrow, I believe I'm going to find myself looking at a vista similar to this one.

Airborne - Miami, FL

In addition to providing new and exciting places to get out on the trail for training, travel provides some dedicated time to read, and I'll be exploring the Appalachian Trail with some of the great thru-hikers on this next trip.

The path to the pilgrimage has been an interesting trek so far, and I'm looking forward to seeing what's revealed around the next bend in the trail.

Thirty Days of Letters

Today marked thirty days of letters left out in public for others to find.  To date, I haven't received a reply to a single one of them, but I'm hopeful.

Day 30 Letter Drop - Bass Pro Shop Fish Tank Display - Spanish Fort, AL

I'm not sure what I expected when I started writing these letters. I do know that I'm still hoping to make a connection with someone that finds the content compelling enough to respond.

The exercise has proven to be a practice in consistency.  I'd like to think the writing in them is getting a little clearer and more heartfelt. I do know that from time to time, just getting the writing done and the letter delivered has been a challenge. 

I'm not sure where this is all leading, but I continue to be drawn to the practice, and I'll keep it up until the calling fades to the background.

The Universe Meeting My Needs

Today, my current day job went a little long than I'd planned, and I found myself relatively late at night trying to find a stranger to make introductions to complete one aspect of the daily practice.  I'd gotten a reasonably good photo of Mobile, and I'd finished my calisthenics but I needed a stranger to complete the day.

Birthplace of Mardi Gras - Mobile, AL

When I find myself in this sort of situation, I usually take a little short cut and try to find some sort of retail establishment to make a trivial purchase and use that interaction to meet the store clerk or manager or on odd occasions a customer. Following that pattern, I headed out to a convenience store about a mile down the road.

As I was walking down the path, I began to get a little restless about the approach. It fit within the rules, but the financial transaction to smooth the road to the introduction always struck me as the lazy way out. Just as I was beginning to come to terms with my decision, I looked up and a man on a bike had pulled up. I walked alongside, and he asked me if I knew if the Gator Alley catwalk closed after dusk.  I introduced myself, and he returned the favor when he told me his name was Rick.

We talked a little, and he shared that he was camping just up the road and was likely heading out in the next couple of days after the presidential election was over. He was a good guy.

The real point in all this was that just at the moment I began to think I was cheating myself by contriving a way to meet someone new, the universe delivered.  Two months ago, I would have avoided Rick.  After a little over a month of practicing introductions, I welcomed the exchange with Rick.

I'm probably overthinking things, but there's a lesson in this experience somewhere. I'd walked almost every step to that convenience store I'd targeted a little over fifteen minutes before. Rick (and the Universe) didn't save me a whole lot of steps, but by doing the work he did save me a little money.

It's impossible to know what's around the next corner, but if you keep walking there's a good chance you'll find out. There's also a better than average chance that the unexpected result will be better (and certainly different) than what you'd imagined.

Passion for the Trail

When I took my first walk to try to convince myself that the dream that has come to me about walking across the country, I walked seventeen miles without training. I had the wrong shoes.  I had the wrong socks. I didn't drink enough water. I didn't eat enough calories.  I had a blister at six miles. I kept going, and that was probably pretty foolish.  This was the result. I was down for two weeks.  I ended the walk with pictures of hamburger feet.  The idea of the walk persisted, and thankfully so did I.

Over the last two years, my life has been transformed by the trail. I see the world differently. My mind is less cluttered. I look to the sky, and I'm shown the glory of the universe on a daily basis.

Airborne - Charlotte, NC to Pensacola, FL

The first six miles of that first practice walk was filled with both boredom and anxiety. My mind was chattering to itself. I had not moved that slowly without entertainment for a very long time. The trees looked the same. The sky looked the same. The trail looked the same. It's because I had forgotten how to see. I'd become undisciplined in my thinking. I'd become addicted to the easy cotton candy entertainment of the television. I could no longer see what was right in front of my face.

 

Airborne #2 - Charlotte, NC to Pensacola, FL

I no longer bury my head in a book or a screen trying to hide from the people and the experiences around me. I can look out the airline window for an hour waiting because I know that the great moment is coming. The clouds will clear dn the blue sky will manifest. The river will shine in the sun, and if I'm not paying attention.  If my brain demands constant entertainment, I'll miss it, and the moment will be lost forever. I learned this patience on the trail trying to drive an crazy escape fantasy out of my head.

Fellow Travellers - Fairhope, AL

It took some time, but I learned to chase the sun. I learned to put myself outside during the golden hour and then wait. I learned to see again, and I'm hooked. Walking is not boring. It's one of the most passion filled aspects of my life.

Laid Back - Feet Up - Fairhope, AL

I had a couple of more miles to walk after this photo was taken, but one foot in front of another had taken me to this time and place, and it was worth a moment to soak it all in. I have no idea what the bottom of my feet look like today, but I guarantee they don't look like they did at the end of that first practice walk.

I continue to be amazed at what the universe brings across my path, and everyday my love...my passion...my calling for the walk grows a little stronger. My life is getting fuller, and I hope that one day this journey might help someone else. I have peace and contentment in abundance, and if you want some of mine you're welcome to it. I'd love to have you join me in this journey, and I'm looking forward to what tomorrow will reveal.

Leaning Into the Dream

A series of events happened this week that have pushed me deeper into pursuing the dream of walking from Newport, RI to Newport, OR.  It's been awhile since I told the tale of the beginning of this journey, but it's worth recapping a short version of the story here.

About four years ago (almost to the day really), I had managed to earn my way into a very dark place in my life. I couldn't stand staying where I was, and I really couldn't imagine moving forward. All I really wanted to do was escape, and the notion crossed my mind to drop my job, my possessions, and all other attachments and strike out on the road headed west.  I was in terrible physical shape, and I had no real plan other than to escape the pain that I'd created for myself. It was a silly escape fantasy, and fortunately for me I went in another direction.

The narrative of that branch of the trail is a completely different story, so I'll let it sit for now, but about a year later, I found myself in a much better place.  I'd begun the process of shedding my demons, and my physical fitness was on the mend. My thinking had changed from a feeling of crushing entrapment to optimism.  My work, relationships, finances...almost everything that defines the standard notion of the "American Dream" had improved.  One thing that I kept from that dark morass of hopelessness was the notion of the walk.

I have no inkling why this idea proved to be so sticky. There was nothing really to escape from at this point, but there the idea sat...percolating. I decided something had to be done.  The idea was crazy. It was irresponsible. There was just no way to "earn a living" (more on this notion of earning a living in a later post) walking across America. Something had to be done to rid myself of this idea, so one day I mentioned it to Rory Conlan (you know him, the guy who is overdue on his once every six month post promising more posts).

Rory is a responsible sort. I've even accused him of having an overdeveloped sense of responsibility from time to time. He's steady, practical, and traditional. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he would hate the idea of walking across America. He'd tell me it was irresponsible. Crazy. Not the right thing to be thinking about doing much less seriously planning on doing it. I'd verbalize the sticky idea, and he'd give me all the logical reasons it should be discounted immediately. I was not wrong.

Rory performed admirably. He laid out his case. He reacted with great skepticism. He went through a long list of reasons that it couldn't and shouldn't be done. He appealed to the irresponsibility of it all. He poured cold water all over my silly notion. The flames had gone out, and I left that conversation with only a little ember of thought that I was sure would fade with time.  My plan to get rid of the idea had worked.

Two weeks later, I was on a call with Rory, and he brought up the walk. He asked me where I had thought it might happen. I'd done some initial research, so I said the thought before he killed it had been to walk from Newport, RI to Newport, OR largely along US Highway 20. I hadn't named the walk yet, but that was about as far as I'd gotten.

I began to get a little anxious. Rory was making positive sounds. Then he did what I thought was about a 50/50 chance when I first told him about the walk. He said it sounded like a fine adventure. The embers of the idea burst back into a little flame.

Over the coming months he and I talked about the idea more and more. We both did more research. We talked about ideas for funding it. I wondered what it would feel like to walk 3300 miles, and I wondered how long it would take. I eventually settled on a 30 mile per day target, and we continued to talk. Eventually the talk led to action, and we both began to train.

We've had setbacks since then, and we're still not out on the road. Lot's of things have happened in my life, but the dream of the walk continues to be pushed to fruition through work and the gentle hand circumstances beyond my control. Just this week, I was given the gift of more discretionary time to work toward the dream that is slowly becoming the Newport to Newport Transcontinental Pilgrimage (N2N-TCP).

College Creek Sunset (from a few days ago) - Annapolis, MD

I continue to encounter enriching experiences along this journey. I've gotten outside. I stopped watching television. Many of my worries, things that I once thought were important enough to drive my anxiety level higher than warranted, have vanished.  Today, I've walked eight miles, and I'll probably get in a few more.

I don't know what will happen tomorrow, but four years later, we're closer to the dream of the N2N-TCP than ever before.  I'm enjoying the trail, and I'll keep pushing forward.

Rafting Life's River

Today was spectacular. Rory Conlan and I spent about an hour while we walked, and I managed to pull myself out the calling of walking to make it to my day job.  On the way, I experienced the morning of four suns.

Four Sun Morning - US 98 Causeway - Daphne, AL

We live in extraordinary times. Metal coated flat glass mirrors were not produced until early in the Renaissance in Venice. Due to the difficulty of making plate glass of uniform thickness, they were a very expensive luxury item. There are legends of the Countess de Fiesque purchasing a mirror for the price of a wheat farm she sold to finance the transaction. Today, we have mirrors everywhere. I didn't really notice this till I got out on the trail and started moving a little slower. Now I see them, and what they reflect, everywhere.

Later in the afternoon, I made my way back to Fairhope, AL for another round of trail work, and the day was then bookended with the glory of the universe.

Fellow Travellers - Fairhope, AL

Because of the cloud coverage, I was a little concerned the sunset would be a little dull. I couldn't have been more wrong.

Fishing - Fairhope, AL

People aren't something I normally photograph, but today, down on the end of that pier in Fairhope, the opportunities were just too beautiful to let pass.

Family Sunset - Fairhope, AL

I stood in awe as a raging river of life flowed by as the sun dipped below the horizon. Sometimes...oftentimes it's like that during my pilgrimage training. I raft down the river of life, and the universe brings me just the right things to achieve peace and serenity. I feel like I've discovered an endless river of wealth, and it costs hardly a thing to experience the flow in all it's grandeur. I am blessed, and although I don't know what will happen tomorrow, I have faith that the river of life will deliver just what I need.

Holding Pattern

Occasionally, I find that my life gets into a holding pattern.  I'm doing the daily practice.  I might even be hitting some elements of the practice better than I have at other times during the journey. For whatever reason, during these time, it feels like my progress has stalled.

I haven't been able to correlate these episodes to anything in particular, and I've come to assume that they are really just a normal part of existence. I like to think of them as time when the universe is just consolidating. If I'm fortunate, and I often am, I still find the beauty that I'm seeking in the daily rising and setting of the sun.

Night Shatters - Spanish Fort, AL

When I get into one of these spots, I find it best just to relax a little.  Great experiences sometimes take a little time to put together, and the world is an infinitely complex place. Forcing the issue or trying to get ahead of the way things are meant to be often just leads to frustration. Better to keep pressing on with doing the next right thing and enjoying the ride.

Sol Beats a Retreat - Mobile, AL

I'm a little impatient, but I've seen this movie before. I don't know if the dam will break and things will start happening tomorrow, but I know if I'm lucky the answer will be revealed.  Until then, keep walking.

The Call of the Road

I find myself back on the road again, and though travel takes me away from those things I hold most dear, it does give me the opportunity to get unfettered internet access.  I also find that travel affords the opportunity for adventure, a chance to meet new people, and, almost without exception,  a time to see the world from a slightly different angle.

Travel is a time to reset...a recreation, as it were, even if the time on the road is largely dictated by the constraints of the day job.

I like it.  I like it a lot.

Parking Lot Sunrise - Baltimore Washington International Airport

Today started off early with a trip to the airport. As I was waiting on the shuttle from the long term parking lot, the sun peeked up over the horizon and, as seen through the chain link fence, offered a pretty striking vista to start the day.  

I got in the aluminum tube, and a little less than twelve hours later, I was blessed with experiencing the sunset in Fairhope, Alabama during my evening training walk for the N2N-TCP.  

Heron at Sunset - Fairhope, AL

There were moments of terminal terror as I hustled to make a connection and a day job email or two in between, but the bookmarks on each end of the day seemed to make it all worthwhile.

Fairhope's On Fire

As I told Rory (Conlan) during the walk, "We really should be doing this sort of thing full time."

Soon.  Very soon.

I'm not sure what tomorrow holds, but I sure hope it's more of the same sorts of experience.  I'm optimistic.

Moving Toward the Pilgrimage Three Hours at a Time

Today, I had three hours of relatively unstructured time and I'm ending it feeling more convinced than ever that the N2N-TCP is calling. Three hours isn't really enough time to escape the urban area I'm in, and the options for doing something seem relatively limited.

One thing that's available in spades is the opportunity to pay homage at the temples of materialism. They're ubiquitous, but with minimalism on the mind they don't have the draw for me that they once held in the past. Going to the mall to look at things I don't need feels like a big waste of time. I'd rather be out alone on the trail, encountering vistas like this one.

Day's End - Fairhope, AL

On the surface, watching the sunset isn't any more or less valuable than walking the mall, but for some reason it feels closer to whatever it is that I'm seeking in the journey.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow, but it's clear that I have to focus my efforts on making the Transcontinental Pilgrimage a priority.

Sunset Finale - Fairhope, AL

Tonight will likely be the last evening I spend in southern Alabama for a week or two, and the sunset in Fairhope, AL seems a fitting nightcap on the way out of the area.

Heading into the Sunset - Fairhope, AL

Chasing the sunset is proving to be quite a rewarding past time and source of awe as I progress on my pilgrimage.

Sunset Finale - Fairhope, AL

Truly nature's canvas, and I can't wait to see what she unveils tomorrow.

Changes in Attitudes

Today after my day job wrapped up, I spent some time chasing a sunset. A little bit of map recon would have gone a long way because I ended up in a less than optimal viewing location. On top of the initial geographical mistake, I got to the spot just in time to watch Sol slip below the horizon, and I was left with the dregs as the light faded into night. Don't get me wrong, it was much better than any number of evening pastimes (like watching the "news"), but there's some improvement to be achieved.

That said, Google Photos salvaged a photo or two automatically, so the walk wasn't a total loss in terms of scenery.

Dregs of the Sunset as Interpreted by Google - Fairhope, AL

After the walk, I found myself in a Target looking for bottled iced tea. That's a whole story in and of itself, but suffice it to say that I'm battling my way through breaking a Diet Coke habit and I needed some non-artificially sweetened caffeine.

As I walked through the store, my thoughts brought me back to one of the great Jimmy Buffet songs, "Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes."  While Jimmy sings about a geographic changes driving a shift in outlook. Walking is doing something like that to my outlook. It's getting more and more difficult to stomach the complexity that I find inundates almost every moment of my conscious existence. Material wealth, choices, distractions, entertainment, and agendas froth around my senses begging for attention and often getting far to much of it.

All this after I've curtailed many of the purchases I used to make and essentially have ejected television from the list of activities I find fulfilling.

The road is calling. I sense a building of circumstances surrounding what amounts to the crazy idea that a pedestrian trek of some distance will allow me to reset and reconnect with something whole and spiritual that even now I can't really define. Today, the draw was greater than it's felt in the past, and every day that passes without moving out seems to make the pull a little stronger...the whispers of my thoughts and feelings a little louder...my resolve to step out and complete this fantastical journey a little more steely.

Rory Conlan has said in the past that "sometimes it's good to step out of line just to see if the line is leading you anywhere you'd like to be going." Maybe it's time to take a step to the right and forge off in a different direction.

We'll see what the morning brings. It'll be different, and I'm looking forward to that possibility.

Routine Through the Changes

The front end of the eviction move is complete.  Our material possessions have been moved from the large house and deposited rather haphazardly in the small apartment. One good thing about transitioning from a six bedroom five bath house with a basement and two car garage and into a three bedroom one bath apartment with a one car garage is that it focuses the mind (and the eye) on the amount of stuff that one's managed to accumulate. I don't like it one bit, but in the end, I believe that being faced with this stark reality is going to lead to some positive changes in the way I and my roommates collect hard good.  I hope so anyway.

The move has also presented the opportunity to practice some unplanned digital minimalism.  That experience has been good for me as well. I still don't have internet service in the apartment.  Let's face it...it's difficult to set that kind of thing up when all the wall area is hemmed in by boxes.  Every now and then, when I can get access, I'll post an update to let my readers (the Chinese and Russians mostly) know "Vas es Los" until more routine access can be squeezed out of the moving boxes that have invaded my current abode.

About the only thing that hasn't gone through tectonic magnitude events over the last several weeks has been the daily practice.  Walking, calisthenics, the twenty six list, photography, and minimalism have proceeded apace.  I even added introducing myself to at least one new person a day and taking a cold shower every day to the mix.

The rest of the world has continued it's practice of moving forward as well, so if you find yourself fretting about the outcome of the upcoming election, which I believe is a comical farce no matter how the results bear out, by the way, pick up the remote, turn off the fear mongers, and join me outside for a stroll. You won't be alone. There are plenty of sane people out here doing the same thing.

Sunset Paddle Boarder - Fairhope, AL

Regardless of how ridiculous some of our fetishes become down here on earth, the universe has provided that the sun will rise and set every day. On evenings when the wind lays down, and the water beckons the more reasonable of our species to glide on it's surface, the peace and serenity flow through everything that the waning rays of Sol caress.

Sunset - Fairhope Pier - Fairhope, AL

Fairhope municipal pier is still standing, and the martins are still chasing down the last of the season's mosquitos in preparation for the upcoming winter. The cool fall air promises football and rain and a tempering of the summer heat and humidity. The gentle breeze speaks to the goodness that is all around us in the midst of the naysayers proclaiming doom of one political stripe or another.

North Beach Park Fountain - Fairhope, AL

Just when you think the light show is over and it's time to head back to wherever you started your journey from, you might glance over your shoulder and see something like this display as the day comes to a close.

I'm grateful for the changes that have come my way via circumstances beyond my control or influence. I'm grateful that the daily practice I've been building over the last year has been resilient enough to provide routine in the midst of external chaos.  I'm grateful for the sunsets, sunrises, storms, clouds, and people who have graced these last several weeks during my unintended sabbatical from writing. I'm not sure what's going to happen in the morning, but I sure am looking forward to finding out what waits around the next bend of the trail.

Easing Back Into the Daily Practice

For the last three weeks, I've not been particularly rigorous in conducting the daily practice.  I've gotten in a decent attempt at my current set of habits and given the distractions (moving, travel, churn at my current day job, etc.) the efforts haven't been all that bad.  For the first time today, I finally had enough time with enough rest behind it to start missing some of the rigor that's been spent on other, less fruitful, endeavors over the last several weeks.  It things go well, I'm on the cusp of ramping up into full swing on the elements in the very near future.

It's worth listing the activities that I now consider mandatory work toward a more spiritual future.  Generally in the order I acquired them, they are:

1.   Walking
2.   Talking to Rory on the Phone
3.   Landscape/Skyscape Photography
4.   Blogging
5.   Daily Self Portrait
6.   Calisthenics (push-ups, crunches, resistance band curls, plank, flutter kicks)
7.   Meditation
8.   Minimalism
9.   Prayer
10. Saving Money
11. Introducing Myself to One New Person

Another Glorious Day in Fairhope, AL

Considering that less than four years ago I truly believed that I didn't have even a few extra minutes to spare in my busy daily life, this is a pretty good list of habits to have implemented. That said, I believe there are more than a handful more things that should at least be added to this list for a month or two on an experimental basis at least.

I am grateful for the friends I have met, the help I have gotten, and the relationships that have been enhanced by this steady but sure accumulation of habits that have displaced ones of more dubious value as time has marched forward.

I don't know what will happen tomorrow, but I'm going to go search for an alligator, a sunrise, and a sunset if I'm graced with experiencing the dawning of a new day.

A Spiritual Journey

I am uncomfortable speaking of the N2N-TCP in terms of a spiritual journey, but as Rory and I continue to plot and talk and train and move toward the beginning of the journey the spiritual nature of the trip continues to become a larger and larger presence in our efforts.

The discomfort comes from an degree anxiousness that this sort of external manifestation of an internal journey is really not something to be talked about in polite company. I feel that I run the risk of being a little crazy or off kilter. I don't know why I feel that way, and I suppose at this stage in the progression it's becoming time to lean into that discomfort a little and try to communicate this aspect of the pilgrimage.

The Daily Message from the Universe - Fairhope, AL

Since I started training for this walk, I've broken with culture to a degree. I suppose I always new that the walk across the United States would be a spiritual quest of some sort, and that's why I settled on naming the idea the Newport to Newport Transcontinental Pilgrimage (N2N-TCP). One aspect of breaking from the cultural norms is that I spend much more time outside than I used to spend. Not only is the amount of time higher, but I've come to believe that the quality of the time is also higher. Vanishing from my day to day existence are the televisions and radios, and in their place, the sunsets and sunrises that have been happening on this planet from the beginning of time forced themselves into the forefront of my experience.

These daily celestial events, many shared (because they cannot be truly captured) in the photographs on this blog leave me feeling simultaneously blessed in a very special and intimate way and feeling small in the face of the vastness and power that they indicate is working all around me.  They leave me with a feeling of distance coupled with a feeling of closeness that I find impossible to really describe.

I am beginning to sense when other people have experienced the same sort of paradox in a similar way, and I'm beginning to believe that we all experience these feelings at one time or another. Through my time under the sky on the trail I sense a slow coming together into a feeling of oneness with others that I don't really remember experiencing in the past.

Uncertainty with where any or all of this is leading makes me question the direction this is going from time to time. In those moments of doubt, I'm reminded by Rory that sometimes it's good to step out of line every now and then just to make sure you agree with where the line seems to be heading.

I'm grateful that he's been a partner in these endeavors, and although I have no idea what tomorrow will reveal, I'm looking forward to finding out.

I Forgot

Yesterday was a really long day getting ready for the final push to complete the move/downsizing that we recently experienced. I had access to the internet, but it wasn't convenient. I did not watch any television. This is a good development, and it's one I hope to find a way to extend to our broader home way of living.

I woke up early this morning and headed for the airport to catch a ride down south. Due to some IT glitches, the travel agent was unable to get me ticketed, but with an hour in advance of the flight arrangements were made and we departed Baltimore just after sunrise. After clearing the clouds, I snapped this photo from my window.

Airborne shortly after sunrise - Climbing out of BWI

This photo's been doctored more than a little, so strictly speaking this is not the sight that greeted me, but it captures the mood that the scene evoked in me after clearing the clouds. The air was clear and the sky clean a blue. Multiple layers of clouds captured the light and shadow in a myriad of interesting ways. The cold front headed our way was churning the atmosphere at multiple levels. The view was glorious.  I didn't post this photo to social media because of the heavy handed filters applied. The explanation for doing what I did is not really in keeping with my social media photo philosophy where I try to render a more realistic and less artistic view of things I observe.  That "philosophy" is probably worthy of a post all its own, but I'll leave it at that for now.

On the way back down out of the sky, I glanced out the window and saw the shadow of our Airbus A321 cast on the clouds that we were rapidly descending through on our path down to Charlotte, NC.

A321 Shadow on Clouds - Descent into Charlotte, NC

Other than cropping and some light adjustments on exposure and highlights to bring out the shadow, I posted this one to Facebook. The photo very quickly racked up more commentary from a wider variety of participants than I'm normally used to seeing. It was a head scratcher, and though pretty interesting, I was initially a bit worried that this photo would not be well received at all.

The I remembered that today was the day we've been told we'll Never Forget. September 11th. Several weeks ago, I decided to fly on September 11th because I'd forgotten that fifteen years ago today the United States was attacked with airplanes in a graphic and horrific way that would shape the balance of my career in my day job from that moment to (a lesser degree) now.

It's not that this photo is particularly good or unique. It's that more people are sensitive to imagery associated with airplanes on the fifteenth anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the heroic end to United Airlines Flight 93 in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

I'm going to go against conventional wisdom and suggest that a bit of forgetting is good for the soul. When I look back on the last fifteen years, I'm not sure that we've made the right decisions on how to address these attacks when viewed through the prism of opportunity cost. This is little doubt in my mind that the trillions of dollars spent and the wars that have been fought in response to this attack have improved the physical safety of most of us from a martial perspective. I do wonder if we've unknowingly sacrificed security in equally important, but not so memorable or dramatic areas that we may want to consider going forward.

What's done is done, and there are folks now who are learning about this chapter of World history without having experienced the raw emotion of living through the events of the last decade and a half. Perhaps a little forgetting is in order so we all can move on and address the legion of issues that might be helped with a more balanced expenditure on security.  I don't know, but my elbow is itching a bit, and this is often a sign for me that we may want to pause and ask some hard questions.

My flights landed safely, and toward dusk I found myself in the familiar and welcome embrace of Fairhope, AL. The sunset was muted in keeping with the tone of the day, but it was beautiful nontheless.

Dusk - Fairhope, AL

We'll have to wait and see what the next fifteen years will reveal, but I'm hopeful as always that tomorrow will show us all another new set of new and adventurous challenges.  Till then, and per my usual habit, I'm looking forward to it.

Downsizing Nearing Completion

Today was dedicated to cramming far too many material possessions into a much smaller dwelling.  On the upside, we got rid of quite a bit of excess material.  I feel pretty good about that part of things.

That said,we have quite a bit of progress left to make.  I feel good about that as well, but now it will be interesting to see if we can follow through on what promises to be an excellent opportunity.

Even with all the comings and goings, the sunset tonight was pretty spectacular.

Soccer Sunset with Moon 0 Annapolis, MD

The younger male roommates were playing a soccer game, and even though we were more than a stone's throw from the water, the light show was worth a glance to the heavens.

We'll see what happens tomorrow. A busy day is in the offing, and it will be fascinating to see how it plays itself out.

Sunset on an Era

We're done with our old accomodations.  About half our material possessions are moved out, and it's apparent to me that some downsizing is in order. I'm tired, and it's hard to tell how this is all going to work out.  That said, I know that it will work out for the best.

I'm going to break a guideline and post a picture from yesterday. I've kept up the daily practice in fits and spurts, but getting interesting photos today just wasn't in the cards. The one from yesterday captures my mood. We're putting things in the rearview mirror, and the initial indications are that this is going to work out for the better.

Rearview Mirror Sunset - Bowie, MD

I've missed a couple of days because I fell asleep meditating. I guess I needed the rest, but I know that tomorrow will be a new day in a new house and I'm looking forward to seeing how it all plays out.

Culminating Moves

Labor Day this year was spent laboring at getting ready to move from the six bedroom five bath mini-mansion into the three bedroom one bath apartment. One reasonable conclusion for all this is that we have fare too much stuff, and it's doing a pretty good job of owning us right now. Frankly, it's a little grim, and I'm not sure we're going to be ready to fit it all into the smaller place that's headed our way later this week. The sun is setting (I hope) on the era of out greatest excess.

Sunset - Halligan Hall - United States Naval Academy

In spite of the stress involved, I really am hoping we can leverage this move into a more spiritual existence. Having fare too many material things has proven to be no real way to go about living in terms of being able to fulfill our spiritual purpose, and I really feel that this way of life has reached a crisis point.  Even on the third round of minimalism when I thought things might be winding down for me, I've found a pile of stuff that just needs to be shed in order to be a happier person.

Leading my family into this new way of life is proving challenging, but I hope this change in circumstance forced on us by people who were only seeking to do us harm flips the script and proves to be one of the best things that's happened to us in a awfully long time. It's hard to see how that's going to work from the chaos that's ensued over the last couple of days, but I remain hopeful.

Folks say that everything happens for a reason, and I'm hoping that tomorrow those truths reveal themselves in all of our lives.

Burning Bridges...A Little

One of the reasons that the idea of a long pilgrimage appeals to me is the chance to have some time and space to reflect on what the next course my life should take. It's a way of heading off into the sunset a little to gain some separation from my day job from the last twenty years.

Heading North - Sunset on the Severn

It's a bit like burning bridges (or my own ships) upon reaching a place that's rife with the potential for discovery.  I'm not dissatisfied with my work, but over the last two decades my world view has matured a little, and it's time to get some distance and see if it holds together. I also want to get out on the trail and reconnect (or possibly connect for the very first time) with an American people that I take on faith to be mostly good honest, hard working folks.

Before all that can happen, we'll get through some moving activities tomorrow if everything goes according to plan. It rarely does go according to plan, but I'm looking forward to the adventure at any rate.