travel
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round two
Already I’m nostalgic for what I just wanted to finish not so long ago. The simplicity. The minimalism. The rhythm of the day-to-day routine. Having only one focus, one requirement, one goal—to walk. Long days, big miles, pushing and challenging yourself. Out of your head and in your body. I didn’t love it or like Continue reading
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walking the length of an island
Why do you walk eight, nine, 10 hours a day? In any weather and conditions, on whatever tracks or pavement or gravel or dirt or sand or grass, through deep mud or rushing water—anything the day brings? In whatever environment, from muggy subtropical forest to beaches to farmland to towns or cities to quiet or Continue reading
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“the long path”
The longest backpacking trip I’ve done to date is eight days in the Patagonia region of Chile, averaging around 10 miles a day when it was all said and done. Now, I’m planning to thru-hike New Zealand’s north island for at least two months, hoping to average more like 15-18 miles a day during the Continue reading
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in the wild
I sat in my truck watching the furious surf, as if seeking revenge; the gray-white sea bled into the gray-white sky. I thought, “Sometimes you have to walk headlong into the wind and rain. Don’t run from it; run into it.” So I got out of my truck and walked down onto the beach, heading Continue reading
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Week 51: waiting
I’m familiar with waiting. I remember spending a 12 hour “layover” at a city train station in Mandalay, Myanmar many years ago, having already taken a 12 hour train ride on an “ordinary class” train, with a 14 hour train ride ahead of me to go further north. (“Ordinary class” trains had hard, uncomfortable, nearly Continue reading
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Week 46 / 47: meanwhile
Meanwhile: “in the intervening period of time” The word “meanwhile”… in the meantime, not yet, in between… Do you ever feel in a perpetual state of “meanwhile”? Waiting and hoping but always only that—waiting and hoping without seeing or knowing what you’re waiting and hoping for. For some of us, it’s something (or someone) very Continue reading
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Week 35: rest
“I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.” I do not rest as well or as often as I believe I do. Most “rest” is still activity in some way. Then there are the days we have no choice; we are forced to be still. When our bodies are weary and won’t Continue reading
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Week 19: when “behind” is “ahead”
I grew up hearing some of the following phrases: make sure you don’t “backslide”; don’t be “deceived”; make sure not to “fall away”; be careful not to “lose your faith.” Do I believe these can actually happen to someone? In a sense, I actually do. Do I think they’re helpful or should be a focal Continue reading
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Week 16: India & AIDS
April 16, 2009. Chennai, India. I was on an “around the world” trip with my good friend that would last for over nine months. In Chennai, we were spending some time with local ministries and organizations, including one that helped local Indians who suffered from AIDS (children and adults). On this specific day, we went Continue reading
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Week 10: you are a light
“God doesn’t give a gift without giving an obligation to use it.” – Christian Wiman We sometimes assume that to do what we do not desire is to be right, to be the martyr. But to be what we were made to be, this is to be the true martyr, because the greatest battles of Continue reading
a kingdom built of seeds 