I feel as though I haven’t blogged in quite some time, which is, I suppose, true. Thailand has been wonderful, but feels like I have simply been living life, not all that worthy of blogs. Fewer noteworthy stories have taken place, and right now I am just walking through this all with little sense of great adventure in the Lord. It is all adventure, for sure, but perhaps the rollercoaster has slowed into the coasting part – no great turns, flips or adreniline invoking spins.
Now that I have some time (and a computer to assist in my thinking) to blog about some stories of the past month, I hope to post some blogs to catch up. In the meantime, I’ll tell you that I read a book while in Phuket that I loved, for the sense of adventure was similar in regards to emotions.
Long Way Round by Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman tells the story of their motorcycle trip from London to New York, the long way round – through Eastern Europe, Mongolia, Siberia, Alaska, Canada, then through some of the northern states into New York. They rode for about 3 months through seriously tough terrain, and with very few contacts set up along the way. They experienced adventure as many of us dream about, the same sense of adventure we all came on this World Race with.
The book follows not so much the details of their trip, but more the emotions they processed through over the months. This is where the similarities between us existed so much. Frustrations with traveling with the same people 24 hours a day without a break, and without your family; fatigue after a long days work and bad sleeping conditions; intense joy when experiencing beauty, mixed with a sadness that it isn’t shared with some of our closest loved ones; the awesome excitement of being on this incredible adventure; an awakening to the brokeness and poverty of those around the world, and the innate desire to help them. And mostly, the sense that somehow this journey has become more
my life and less of
a trip.
About two thirds of the way through their trip, Ewan says this: “The experiences felt deeper and just as intense (
as in the beginning) but less pointed. I was taking fewer photographs and talking less about what we had seen and done each day because I no longer felt like a tourist or traveler. The journey had become my life.”
This statement encapsulates my feelings about the World Race right now. I think this really began to sink in right about the time we reached Thailand, and I suppose (though it’s not a great excuse) that’s why my blogging has slowed a little bit. I will still try to capture my life, because I realize that those at home still want to know about me and my time out here this year, whether it’s a journey or
simply life in my own perspective. 🙂
