a i m l e s s

I have been following Andrew Morgan’s bicycle ride from New Jersey through South America since he started about a year ago.  His travels and mission are inspirational to begin with, but just recently he posted a discussion quoted by Rob Thomson and originally written by Chris Goulet titled “The Explorer-Adventurers.”  I found it touching, and truly inspirational.  Do you?

 The Explorer-Adventurers

We have an insatiable thirst to experience the world firsthand.

We derive intense satisfaction in challenging, difficult, insecure, and uncomfortable environments.

We take the time to observe and absorb, because we are not racing. We are not competing with anyone but ourselves.

Our encounters with vastly different environments, lifestyles, and beliefs profoundly expand our interest and awareness of the world.

Witnessing meager standards of living forever changes our perception of the Western preoccupation with striving for material wealth.

When we return home, we feel delighted at regaining the little pleasures that have been denied to us in faraway lands.

We have frequent flashbacks of our expeditions and take pleasure in telling others our experiences.

We become tolerant of petty annoyances or discomforts and become patient in our projects.

But the ceasing of discovery and strong sensations precipitate in us a long emotional slump.

Sensations we once held to be exciting become less so.

Is it worth it?  Like they say, “It’s better to have loved (traveled) and lost (come home) than never to have loved at all.”

Once we have eaten from the tree of knowledge, we cannot go back to ignorance.

While on expeditions, our attention is intensely focused and nothing else matters, but back home it is difficult to concentrate on what we are doing.

Our successes strongly reinforce our self-esteem. We can do anything, but we find we don’t really want to do anything but explore.

We dream of more adventures, and when preoccupation turns to obsession, we are bound to realize them.

We are fascinated with the stories of other explorers and we plan our expeditions to avoid their misfortunes.

Are we escaping from something or have we been unfortunate with normal life? The true weight of these factors lies hidden from us.

What do we search for?   We don’t really know, until we find it.

Ultimately, we explore to find ourselves.

Our passion for adventure continues…

How do I start to describe this experience? 

 Marnie told me when I was first thinking of joining the Pyramid Yoga course about how things just fall into place when you find your path.  Maybe it’s a bit like the time Jessy and I were stuck in the woods behind Sayen Gardens; we were trudging through thicket and stickers and mud and branches to the eye with all kinds of difficulty.  The sun was going down and it was scary, but we wouldn’t turn around (probably my stubbornness).  After 20 or 30 minutes of  pushing through bushes and climbing over brush we came across a lit path made of concrete, about 20 feet to our left.  It was there all along.  We were going the same direction of the path, parallel.  Ironic, but that’s the way my life is positioned.  I’m resistant to doing things the easy way, seemingly, exuding all kinds of extra effort.  But the path is right there, twenty feet to my left. 

Hah. I find myself now, at 25 years old, with a teaching degree, without a job, in the mountains of northern Thailand, studying Thai yoga massage.  How I got here, I’m not sure.  But I think somehow I have found my path.  I’m sure theres some thicket and bramble.  But at least I have a direction.  Thankfully. This massage course was fused with buddhist concepts surrounding insight meditation, yoga of mindfulness, and the connection of touch.  I have always believed in the importance of touch, and it’s connection with contentment.  The Thai massage I learned integrates yoga stretching positions, internal energy lines, chakras, reiki, acupressure, and aromatherapy.  It is awesome.  After a good massage your body experiences restoration, energy, and clarity.  I WANT TO SHARE THIS. 

Our course was set in the Lahu Village, in a time where villages that are mostly untouched are people zoos, only this village wasn’t that way. People didn’t perform for us. Kids hit us with sticks. We awoke to the sound of pigs snorting and roosters crowing at 4 am. The village was ALIVE. The children were so beautiful. Learning massage amidst all this was the icing on the cake of the course. Unforgettable.