Another Great Day

I'm not going to bore you with the details, but I'll wrap it up quick with the observation that today started out right and got better from that point forward.

Reflections on a Commute

This was the view in my rearview mirror on my way into work this morning. The sunrise is remarkable enough, but the reflection of the reflection off the window and side of the care is the product of fantasies. When I glanced over to check the traffic behind me and saw this view staring back I was taken aback. Lile pink pebbles on a baby blue beach with all the detail a digital camera can muster. It would be hard to believe if you couldn't see for yourself to complex beauty that lies all over the world at our feet.

Anacostia River Reflections

Here's another one where the interface between the air and the water is the spot where vistas come together on the plane of reflection.

Sunrise on the Anacostia

Another where the sky and water become one on the horizon. These are special moments, and they're happening all around me all the time. My life is filled every day, and I'm looking forward to see what pours out of the pitcher tomorrow.  I suspect it will be something like this, but unique and stunning in its own special way.

Scalloped Cirrus and a Power Plant near the Anacostia River

Driving

Lest you start thinking of me as a one dimensional character with all the talk of walking, I thought I'd let you into some of my observations about driving.

Not too many months ago, my commute to and from work were the worst two hours of my existence.  I was generally irritated if not completely irate that up to 1/12 of my life five days a week was being consumed behind the wheel of a car, surrounded, apparently, by idiots intent on making the time even worse than it already was through their behavior clearly directed at adding as much angst to my life as possible.  I sat in my car, in terrible traffic, and stewed in my own sauce while listening to the radio.  It was a real pity party, and there was certainly an untamed element of ego that peppered my thinking.

Sunset in the Rearview Mirror

Fortunately for my own sanity, much of unproductive and undisciplined emoting is receding in the rearview mirror.  By slowing down my pace (literally) in other areas of my life, I was able to begin to develop what I think is a more balanced outlook on that 1/12 of my life five days a week that is still used during my commute.

One of the first things I realized was just how glorious it is to be in a car.  Climate controlled and out of the rain, wind, cold, heat, etc. and zipping along at a blistering clip, I really didn't have very much to rue.  I also realized that those idiots around my that I egotistically imagined were going out of their way to inconvenience me were actually a bunch of other folks just like me.  That had their own worries, their own stresses, their own joys and challenges.  They weren't thinking about me at all.  I stopped the imaginary competition for the speediest route, the optimal lane placement, and the quickest line and started looking around and just enjoy being in my little steel encased environment.

About this time, I also realized that I had a phone, and I could reach out and interact with the people that I did know.  I now routinely spend just a little less than 50 hours a month on the phone with Rory Conlan, the bulk of which is during the commuting time that I used to dread.  We talk about whatever happens to strike our fancy.  It's not always entertaining, but I do always learn something.  I don't know if it's the best way to dual task during the relative downtime during commuting, but I do know it is almost infinitely better than thinking about how I've been wronged by the universe and feeling sorry for myself.

Today on the drive home, I noticed yet another sunset that begged to be captured in pixels.  The sun glinted in the rearview mirror, off the glossy white paint of the car, and was double reflected in the mirror and the rear driver side window.  The reflections were what really struck me, and I find myself often finding scenes worthy of being called art (rendered by nature) in the myriad of reflective surfaces that surround us all every day.  I didn't used to see these subtle, but beautiful splashes of color and drama.  I was moving too fast and was far to inwardly focused on my own darkness to appreciate the forces of light that were all around.

Slowing things down a little has given me the freedom to appreciate that the universe isn't out to get me.  On the contrary it's conspiring to make me successful every moment that I allow that realization to break through my own hardheadedness.  It's a better way of living...hell, even my pictures have gotten more colorful over time.  Just hit the label "Commute" and judge for yourself.

The Rat Race in the Rear View Mirror

The Commute

I briefly touched upon the fact that the idea of walking across the United States has been an ongoing compulsion of mine for the last couple of years in the introductory post of this journal.  One of the things that I hope I can develop over time, is a somewhat reasonable and rational explanation for just why this idea has become so "sticky" or resilient in my mind.

When the idea of walking across the country first entered my consciousness, I was in a very dark period of my life.  It would be comforting to blame this on external circumstances, but if I am honest, most of the reasons were largely self-induced.  I strongly suspect that, at the time, I was manifesting a fairly strong desire to run away...run away from my problems...run away from my circumstances...but mostly just run away from myself.

A relatively short number of months later, I find myself with a completely different outlook on life.  The path to this point has not always been easy, fun, or rewarding in the traditional sense, but I am truly grateful that I have had the opportunity to wind my way through it.

That being said, the idea of walking across the United States has not gone away.  I'm no longer running from all of the circumstances in my life, but the compulsion remains.

One thing that I have discovered over the last twenty-four months is that life is an endlessly fascinating journey.  Each moment is a special gift, and staying with this "Present Moment" mindset is both rewarding and surprisingly challenging.

The photo above is representative of my thirty-four mile commute (each way) every day.  It is an analogue of one of the myriad of things that I had grown to loath and was I suspect was trying to escape during those darker times.  I would find myself on the road, at least two hours a day, with 200,000 other people making the daily slog to a job that I did not find fulfilling to support responsibilities and obligations I had collected over the course of my life (often unthinkingly) and absolutely hating every minute of it.

The irony that the drive is about the same distance as the distance that will be required to walk from Newport, RI to Newport, OR in the timeframe I am planning on has not been lost on my.

One of the ways the idea of taking on this adventure has evolved is that I'm no longer running, but I do want to put certain aspects of that "Rat Race" in my rearview mirror.  I don't think I'm particularly unique in this desire, and I think that just about everyone could take the time to live, take the time for a real adventure, put the things we are collectively encouraged to value in the rearview mirror and make our own path.  That is an underlying value for me in this endeavor.  To prove to myself that I can do it, and to show to others that they can as well.  It's an effort to shrink my world, to live in the present, to revel in the now.

I invite you to join me on this journey of discovery with whatever small sense of wonder that I've been able to renew since the idea of the walk first struck me during the darker days.