Trip Themes: Stop and Go
At this point we have driven over 3000 miles, through countless ecosystems, landscapes, and social geographies. We have been met with kindness and generosity, as well as skepticism and mistrust ("what are these crazy kids driving around the country for?").
A few themes that I have seen develop on the road are as follows:
Movement - We are constantly in motion through a place, watching forests and hills, valleys and mountains, roll right by to the tune of the engine and whatever jams we have coming out of the speakers. In a way, we are an island, self-sufficient with our car full of food and gear. It feels almost as if we would never have to stop...
The Stop and Go - Many of our days, we wake up in one place, and lay our heads, hours later, miles down the road. Last week, we dug in and settled in Fort Collins CO, but even when we lay down in the same place we woke up, each day was filled with movement and the stationary, activity and inactivity.
Stillness - I mean this on a variety of levels. Even while I am in a moving car, my body is in many ways, still. Even as we plod up the trail to the top of the next peak, my mind is often calm, lulled by the rhythm of my feet into an almost trance-like calm. But also, career stillness. Many people have questioned this trip on the basis that it does not necessarily put us in motion towards a job or move us down the career path, but in many ways, I believe that this trip innately contains far more direction and momentum than applying for jobs or working immediately. On the road I have passed many people running in circles, or bicycling their feet in jobs and careers in order to give them the impression of movement. I think the stark stillness of this road trip is helping me to see through the illusion of movement that the modern narrative of progress and success preaches.
For a long time now I have romanticized the Buddhist monk, the Zen master, and indigenous peoples all over, as people who were able to sit contentedly, listening to the sounds of the forest, or listening to nothing at all, peaceful and content. I think these guys were on to something.
This picture of stillness sits in such contrast to the daily hustle and bustle that I have experienced throughout my life, even in suburbia! Don't get me wrong, there is a reason I have spent many years going to school, playing sports, hanging with friends, working, eating, drinking, all at a furious pace. It is fulfilling to be busy, and your productivity is impressive and maybe an end in itself.
But I think myself and many people I know could benefit from a little more balance in their life. I think we could all spend a little more time with just our thoughts, no phones, tv's, or other people. I think we would all be a little happier if we got a sense of fulfillment from the STOP moments as well as the GO.
