It's the getting back down to reality after a long trip that is the hard part...being on the road for so long you forget what the every day worries and stresses are no matter how small and the arrival back into the uncertainty is sometimes more difficult than expected. After being in a state of constant wonder and movement, simplicity and peace, no concept of time and the pure element of existence, I find myself brought down hard to earth. I suppose it is a normal reaction to an escape...I feel silly even feeling this way, but it is a closure to a journey that was utterly amazing and fantastic and alive. I can't help but think only about the next journey and wonder how to exist in between....
All of this of course is part of the natural ebb and flow of adventure. We go to escape and clear our minds and get away from the frivolous behavior that can sometimes encompass our daily routine...in some ways the re-entry magnifies the things we willingly left behind and in coming back it is the challenge of seeing things with a fresh perspective and renewed heart...but this does not stop the post trip glee doldrums from occurring and like anything else we must give that time and space to go through our souls. On some level, I could stay on the road forever and understand the need and desire people have who do it...and on the other hand I am so happy to be home and safe and warm and comfortable, if not a little depressed for the moment, only due to the complete extreme of living on the edge to safely sitting on the couch.
Of course this may seem trivial to some who haven't made the leap of adventure, but tasting the side of life that does not give merit to how much money you make, where you live, who you are or what you do is the magic that proves we are merely small and momentary in this world. During my ride through Glacier Nat'l Park i found myself yelling and laughing inside my helmet like a small child, simply amazed and delighted with the world so close to my being, so open, so free and so damn big. That was just one moment of many where i couldn't describe the utter amazement at my good fortune in this world and the luck and sweet existence I have somehow stumbled onto. The angels have given their sweet guidance and love and for that I am grateful.
Getting away from it all...high up...seeing it from a different place all together helps put it into perspective in a way that sometimes doesn't always make sense...but like the river winding and gliding through the world it has a beginning and an end, and in between the journey is the key...the calm waters, the rapids, the deep, the shallow, the fierceness, the quiet...it's all part of the journey and knowing that we create our journey in any situation is the practice to remember...
The simplicity of the sky and the earth and the color and beauty around is the anchor to which we all are tethered, albeit in a myriad of different ways in this life. The open space around us allowing us to breathe and remember that the most important thing is the moment we have right now....the perspective of the adventure and the journey should not be lost on the idea that we don't get to have that same experience in the daily existence we call our own.
