Gratitude Friday

The last three posts took  a bit out of me to get down on paper, so I think I'll keep this one pretty short. I started off several weeks ago with the best intentions to keep one day a week for listing things that I'm grateful for to make part of my recurring practice.  I've not kept that up the way I intended, so I'll try to kick start that habit again today.

Night on the Anacostia with the USS Barry

I am grateful for my health that I enjoy today. Being relatively healthy is foundational for my walking, and the fact that I enjoy that health has facilitated my ability to see so many fantastic things over the last year. It's a blessing that I too often take for granted and is far from assured.

I'm grateful for my living arrangements. The fact that I was born here in the United States is another one of those things that I find all too easy to take for granted. If anyone should know better, I should since I've been afforded the opportunity to travel at least a little across most of the rest of the world. Africa and Central Asia were particularly eye opening experiences. We live in an incredibly wealthy and safe country compared to millions if not billions of others who can only dream of the advantages we enjoy just by the luck of the draw on where we are born.

I am grateful for winter. The cold is refreshing and it keeps the mosquitos at bay. If we're lucky we'll get at least one good snow storm to allow for some sledding. A good fast toboggan run is an experience that should not be missed if the weather makes the least move to accommodate it.

Night on the Anacostia with a Barge Crane

Finally, I'm grateful for reliable transportation, even when it is just the feet attached to the ends of my legs. In just a little over a year, I've walked a few miles north of 5000, and the things that I've seen and experienced during those travels have been luxuries of the first order.

I'm grateful for good shoes for obvious reasons.

Today was another fantastic day, and I look forward to seeing what tomorrow may bring.

Rory Conlan speaks up

 

ENGAGING  THE   ENDEAVOR

Several months ago, while engaged in a telephone conversation with a friend of many years, I was asked if I’d be interested in participating in a long walk.   More specifically, a walk across the United States, coast-to-coast.

                My initial reaction was mildly negative; my verbal response, after a few seconds pause, was non-committal:   “I’d consider it."

        In retrospect, that transaction is consistent with a life pattern I’ve worked to develop – a life pattern that emphasizes approaching decision making deliberately, logically, “linearly” – not emotionally.

        Now, having said all that, I’ve “deliberately, logically, linearly” decided to become a “partner-in-crime” in this coast-to-coast endeavor.  A significant factor in arriving at that decision was my recognition that this isrepresents an ADVENTURE!!

The ADVENTURE has commenced!!

More  later.

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.

A Difficult Idea to Ignore?

This is the story of an compulsion that began to itch at the back of my brain a couple of years ago and has stubbornly refused all my efforts to shake.  Apparently, I share this malady with Colin Fletcher and after a bit of research, I believe I'm in good if not great company.

The compulsion that has captured no small part of my attention for the last 24 months is a very strong urge to walk across the United States.  The current manifestation has taken the form of a 120 day to 150 day excursion from Newport, RI to Newport, OR.

In order to keep confusion to a minimum, the audience should understand that I am not currently undertaking this journey, but I've started this blog to begin tracking the thinking, planning, maneuvering, and yes, obsessing that I am going through right now. If I can't "Kick this Habit", the end result will likely lead to an attempt of unknown success a couple of years down the  road.

I hope that there is plenty to talk about, and I hope that I can find some relief from this affliction.

Walking across the United States sounds like a great adventure, and I hope can find some amount of satisfaction in sharing this tale.