The Promise of Adventure and Happiness

The Sunset is Fearless, It Knows It Foreshadows and New Dawn - Severn River - Annapolis, MD

I tell many lies but am always believed

if the worst happens, I'll be greatly relieved

On the day you were born, I poisoned your heart

I'll still be here on the day you depart.

Deepak Chopra speaks this little riddle through the voice of his main character in Why is God Laughing?, and when the answer is given it stopped me short. Fear is a liar, and when I’m honest, every little bit of this ditty is true in my life except the last line.

It’s taken me far too long, but I’m grateful that I’m finally becoming more aware of the attitudes and outlooks that have largely shaped my life over the last four decades. I hope that awareness will give me a fighting chance to adjust my path and in turn shape my journey.

I know now that I’m being drawn to the cross country walking pilgrimage that my lifetime friend and I have been planning over the last couple of years. I don’t know how I’m going to earn my keep, but I’ve grown weary of earning my living. The walk we’re planning from Newport, RI to Newport, OR represents an opportunity to take a chance on adventure and happiness. I’m drawn to it in a way I can’t logically defend.

What great adventure have you been setting to the side? If you’re like me, there are a thousand reasons not to pursue your dreams. If you’re like me, all of those reasons are really just fear in disguise. Fear’s a sneaky adversary, but I encourage you to take a chance on adventure and happiness. What’s the worst that could happen?

I'm not sure what will happen tomorrow, but I'm going to try to take a chance on adventure and happiness.

First "Sale" - The Beginning of a Photography Market?

The birth of the notion surrounding walking long distances was firmly rooted in the idea that walking would allow me to shrink my life a little. Let's face it, when you're moving at a walking pace it's pretty difficult to get too very excited about things that are happening outside of arm's reach. That's what I thought when I started this process anyway.

Life has a way of giving you what you need rather than what you expect, and walking turned out to be one of those cases. At the beginning, walking did shrink my world, but that's because most of the world that I knew was pure fiction being invented by my mind.  I remember the first six miles of walking I did in a semi-serious manner.  Not because I had the incorrect footwear, and I'd managed a pretty bad blister at that point.  That happened of course, but the thing that strikes me about those first six miles is that I could not escape the debate raging in my head.  I was wondering what it would feel like. I was worried about being bored. I wondered what the turnaround point would look like, and if it would bring a sense of elation or dread.

Seventeen miles later, my outlook has shifted just a bit. By that point, after walking on blisters for about eleven miles, my primary focus was my feet. I didn't care what it would feel like to get to the end.  I just wanted the interminable miles to end.  I'd seen the turnaround point, and it turned out to be just about like every other point on the walk.  My world had certainly been minimized to arm's distance.  Thinking about any more was too difficult.

As time passed, and my mind continued to calm, the debate subsided. I started to notice things I'd never even imagined existed as I'd become used to passing them at vehicle speed. While the space of my life had contracted, the richness of the experience started to expand as seeing took a back seat and observing took over.

Sometime during that transition, photography became a practice that crept its way into my routine, and at that point the expansion of my world really took off.  It's too long of a story for a short blog post, but my photography began to shape my social networking behavior. When in the past, I rarely passed up the opportunity for an internet battle, the calmness of mind that was developing began to pull me away from that sort of behavior.

About twenty months later, I've gotten to the point of posting only pictures and offering only encouraging comments to my fellow etherworld travellers. Even photography is a pretty light touch since it's rare that I post more than one or two photos a day.

As time passed and I practiced, I'd like to think I've gotten a little better at the mindfulness and the photography aspect.  I've even begun to think it may be a way to earn a  living while pursuing the pilgrimage. That's probably wildly optimistic, but just a few days ago I took a photo at a location I frequent that someone offered to purchase.

Settling in for a Long Winter - Severn River - Annapolis, MD

First, I'm exceedingly grateful that my photography is triggering a positive reaction with my friends. Secondly, the possibility of developing a market for my amateur photography, albeit a very small one right now, heartens me and gives me the courage to realize I might be on a the right path.

Instead of selling this print, I'm going to give it away. The encouragement is more valuable to me than any monetary remuneration. I few days ago I was a crazy man with a dream, but my friends encouragement has banished the crazy and put the doubts back in the box.

This photo is going to that brave individual who was willing to ask for it, and it will be retired as a one of one artist proof.  Similar to businesses framing their first dollar, I hope to look back on this photo as the place where my journey finally really got traction. Thank you Nikki for the encouragement, and although I don't know what will happen tomorrow, you've given me the courage to keep stepping along.

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.

Thursday Waning

I'm pushing pretty hard now at my day job, but walking is still getting done. Today the universe delivered on another spectacular sunrise.

Anacostia Sunrise - 11th Street Bridge, SE, Washington, DC

I hate to admit that the quality of these postings seems to be slipping, but rest assured that the work behind the scenes is still happening.

Rory has hatched a scheme to fund our pilgrimage by volunteering to be the subjects of medical experiments along the way. It's really not as crazy as it might sound, and he's got some contacts so he's going to pursue the enterprise a bit. I told him I was all in, so we'll see where it all goes.

Every day is a grand adventure, and I'm looking forward to what will be thrown our way tomorrow.

The Pillars of the Pilgrimage

No pictures today. It's hard to believe that my Fitbit recorded a little over eight miles of walking without a deliberate period of walking throughout the day. Just for the record, walking as a form of exercise has a great advantage over other forms of cardiovascular exercise. Most of my day was taken up with yard work, and it's hard to imagine trying to jog and mow the lawn at the same time.  Walking...now that's a different story, but I digress.

I've been thinking more and more about how to construct the reality of the N2N-TCP. That's Newport (RI) to Newport (OR) Transcontinental Pilgrimage in case you've just joined us. Some folks in China visited the other day, and I'm not sure the fully aware of what this blog's really supposed to be about. I digress again. It's a habit from not getting any real feedback. There I go again.

Anyway, I'm working on the Pillars of the Pilgrimage. One of the doctrines of Islam that I've grown to appreciate quite a bit with some life experience are the Five Pillars. These concepts provide a relatively simple, but spiritual guidepost for folks practicing their Muslim faith. In short they are 1) A Testimony or Profession of Faith, 2) Obligatory Prayer, 3) Charity, 4) Fasting during Ramadan, and finally, one that I most closely relate to, 5) Pilgrimage to Mecca. The link above will provide a better description if that's what you're interested in, but the Islamic faith is not the point of this posting.

What I like about the five pillars are that they provide touchstones and simple discipline and I'm thinking of adopting the concept of the pillars to my own embryonic pilgrimage. Here's what I've come up with as general areas for consideration:

1) The Practice -Walking across the United States isn't too challenging. It merely requires putting one foot in front of the other over and over again. The Newport (RI) to Newport (OR) route is approximately 3600 miles long, and that equates to about a 6.6 million steps. Each step will be a practice of sorts, and the sheer scale of the undertaking will demand discipline (and about twelve pairs of shoes) to complete. If this isn't practice, I don't know what qualifies.

2) The Path - The path of our route is what's drawing me to this adventure. Seeing the country unfold is proving to be a powerful stimulant to my imagination, and I'm looking forward to seeing what lies around the next bend.  In Nebraska, I suspect we won't even be able to see the next bend for many miles, so walking this path may take a bit of patience.

3) The People - Rory Conlan is looking forward to meeting the people along the way. I'm looking forward to that aspect also, but I think this is the aspect of uncertainty that is really sparking his imagination. He's good with folks, and I think that skill set may prove very useful as we make our way slowly across one of the fatter parts of North America. If worse comes to worse, he may be able to get us a ride to the next town for a replenishment of Diet Coke or a job to earn enough to grab a bite to eat. Who know's what will happen, but we're both hoping that interesting people (really that's anyone that interacts with us in some way) will play a major role in the learning that may or may not come with this undertaking...ha ha...I mean adventure.

Those are the three that have gelled in my mind. I need to run them past Rory. If he ever visited this site, which he should be doing since supposedly he's a contributor, he'd know what I'm thinking. Since his presence comes about every four to six months, I'm not going to hold my breath.

Other candidates include The Planning, The Plodding, The Pastures, The Prayer, and The Potato. Clearly, some of these are better than others, but I really don't like any of them too very much. If anyone's out there reading this and has some suggestions, please let me know.

Until then and as always, I'm excited to see what a new dawn may bring. I suspect it will be enlightening.

Keeping Up the Practice

Relatively long, but productive work at my day job today. I missed taking any photos worth putting up, so for now I'm just keeping up the daily practice.  I did calculate that over the last ten years or so, I've spent a little over 200 days commuting to and from work.

200 days.

That metric lends a little perspective to the pilgrimage which I plan on taking a little less time than that commuting time I've put in over the last decade. From that point of view the walk doesn't sound quite as irresponsible as it might seem at first blush.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow and the chance at stumbling on some other unique and informative perspectives.

Cutting Expenses - Step Two In Tackling the Twenty Six List

Today, instead of outsourcing to a tailor, I pulled out the old sewing machine and made some simple alterations to a uniform blouse and cover (hat) that I need for my current day job next week. All in all, I'm not a very good seamster, but after some fits and starts I made a passable job of the effort.

It's not a lot, but it's the first step in cutting my expenses as part of my efforts associated with the twenty six list. I've also made plans for some additional daily cost cutting that I plan to realize by changing some of my purchasing habits. These are going to be a little tougher, but I suspect that if I can manage a week of changed behavior (one day at a time), I can capture another $300-$450 per month.

College Creek During a Brief Stop in the Incessant Rain

The picture of College Creek is about as large of a non sequitur as possible, but during my walking today it was heartening to finally catch a break in the nearly incessant rain that's been happening for the last week. I spent some solid hours getting soaked this weekend, but I got the photo that I've been waiting to get during a brief dry spell. I'd have taken any photo at this point, and this is the one that I captured.

Back to cost cutting. The challenge of financing the N2N-TCP sits on me like a foggy elephant. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to swing it in the way that I'd like so cost cutting now is something within my ability to influence. I suspect it will also lead to a series of habits that will prove beneficial going forward, and I'm not quite sure why I didn't start much earlier. Actually, I do know.  I got caught up in materialism, and I have not been disciplined for the last twenty years. Like many other problems, this one will not get better with age so addressing it now, while not ideal, must be done in order to have a chance of pulling off the pilgrimage. 

One of the many things I've learned over the past decade, the hard way of course, is that the path to wealth in America mostly consists of keeping the financial resources that you've earned. Making more money certainly helps, but if you're spending what you make you're pissing away an opportunity. I'm sure I must have been told this lessons numerous times before the last several months. For irresponsible reasons, I chose to ignore the advice of wisdom. 

No longer. Cost cutting it is, and because I've waited so long it's going to have to be drastic. Much better to have started a bit earlier because the effort would have been far less drastic. C'est la vie.

I'm looking forward to continuing this one point trent that I started today first thing tomorrow morning. A new day will bring new and exciting challenges so wish me bon merde.

Bridging the Distance from My Day Job to My Calling

Yesterday, I suggested that I believed that my calling (or at least what I've been called to do next) is to become a walker.  There remains quite a list of things I need to get done to bridge the gap between my current day job and the next chapter of my life.

Bridge Near Yards Park - Washington, DC

Since there's no time like the present...actually the present is all that exists and all that will ever exist, it's probably time to start bridging that divide.  A short and far from comprehensive list of things that need to be done in the next ten months follows:

1.   Retire all debt.

2.   Cut expenses by 50%

3.   Save $3000.

4.   Find a new place to live...part of cutting expenses.

5.   Identify $10K worth of funding...either a patron or a series of donors.

6.   Incorporate a non-profit.

7.   Design and produce a logo for the pilgrimage.

8.   Verify all water crossings along the intended route allow pedestrian traffic.

9.   Plan the intended route.

10.  If all water crossings along the intended route do not allow pedestrian traffic, identify the relevant jurisdiction and obtain permission to cross them.  Otherwise find another way.

11.  Register a domain name.

12.  Develop Kickstarter and/or GoFundMe campaign.

13.  Retire from my day job.

14.  Move into new living accommodations.

15.  Discuss pilgrimage plans with family.

16.  Decide on media to document the pilgrimage.

17.  Hire a lawyer.

18.  Hire an accountant.

19.  Establish a corporate bank account.

20.  Hire corporate officers.

21.  Establish corporate by-laws.

22.  Pick stealth camping gear.

23.  Design a water cart for the western crossing.

24.  Pick intended waypoints for the first 200 miles of walking.

25.  Decide on a firm departure time.

26.  Coordinate departure with the city of Newport, RI

There's probably quite a few more, but this list, each line item a project in and of itself a little miniature project with multiple steps, is enough to indicate that there is not a moment to lose if I'm going to strike out in March 2017.

It's going to be a great day tomorrow, and now I know I'll be even busier than I was originally planning.