Seeing my country in an all new light

These past few days in the states have been surprisingly eye opening to me as I've visited several new spots within the USA. I realized that its been over a year and a half since I was last abroad, and in some regards I am really ready to go. On the other hand, I've seen a lot of my own homeland, whether it was my two trips to the southwest, California, living in Alaska and now the East Coast. I've hiked new sections of the A.T. in New Hampshire, dined on Maine lobster, see the sights (and smells) of NYC, and enjoyed the pubs of Boston. Now I'm about to leave with a new appreciation of my own home. Granted I've been cussed out already in NYC, but I've found a far greater number of good souls upon this journey. I've enjoyed catching up with many old friends, and even unexpectedly running into one in a city of 11 million at the NYC train station today. It all makes me realize that when the time comes, I do have a lot to come back to. Not all who wander are lost, and I certainly wander to be found at times. But I don't wander aimlessly from home either, and I have far too much to run from in this homeland of mine.

I prepare to fly out in less than 48 hours. It will be a great journey. Although technically its only starting, I feel like I've seen a lot of unknown ground to me so far.

The beginning of the Journey

Today is that day that always comes, the one in which excitement mixes with fear, the unknown creeps into ones mind, the sorrow of saying goodbye... and yet the thrill of it all takes over pushing the hesitation aside. I have wanted to do my grand trip around the world for a long time, and now it seems that that time has finally come.

I have been lazy with blogging, but now that I'll have unfettered time to travel and write, me thinks. Since my last post I returned to Kansas from Alaska, sad to go, and have been home almost 6 weeks. A strange feeling that is, but a good one that warms the heart. I purchased plane tickets to India with a quick layover in Europe to see friends, but truthfully the grand trip wont start nearly as dramatically as previous journeys have before, I have several weeks still in the United States visiting friends on the East Coast.

There comes a time in a man's life when he has to set off and find that which he cares for the most in this world if he is to do something epic in life, to truely change the world. I ask myself, what is the what? What is it that I'm truely passionate about? What cause do I really want to give my life in its service? What is the battle I want to fight for? What is that thing that will ultimately give me the direction in my life? This trip is in part a quest for determining what is the what. I know I do have direction of sorts, but it is simply to head into the unknown. How else could I grow? I dont want to be in love with the idea of Adventure, I want to love being in the Adventure itself. I have absolutely no plans for my arrival in India, I just have to be in Mongolia by January. This should prove to be one journey that shapes my character and life more than previous jaunts abroad, I can only hope I get out of this what I need to. So its a vision quest of sorts.

In the end just a wandering dusty traveler far from home in need of a good meal and a warm bed will find himself in many a new place hopefully better for all of it, with God turning his world upside down. We can only hope so.

So it begins...