In their heart's heart, don't most professional travelers know they are spoiled brats? The idea used to gnaw away at me, quietly and in the background.
In the real world there are many things about the job, family, weather, etc., that people wish were better; but they're not, and an individual is usually powerless to change them, at least in the short term. All he can do is try to keep them from bothering him by using some mental discipline and creativity.
Most adults accept platitudes like this, but practicing them isn't so easy. For instance I currently enjoy a rare driveway-sitting gig in a uniquely beautiful area, Ouray CO, while enjoying house amenities. Most travelers would consider themselves extremely lucky to have an opportunity like this.
But the weather has turned against Ouray, for about ten days now. Remember that most people yearn all year for September and October, since autumn is usually the best time of the year. But this year, I'm missing it. Yea I know, boo-hoo.
I haven't even been back on the road for a month yet, and I'm already backsliding into spoiled brat mode. This shows that a 3-year attempt at residency didn't bring me back to the real, adult world.
So why did my hiking partner take off this morning, guilt-free, for warmer and dryer climes? Let's do a little "wandrin" about that. I claim that comfort, ease, and perfect weather are insipid and bland on a permanent basis. Far more interesting are challenges of one type or another. The roller-coaster of Agony and Ecstasy is also quite interesting. Perhaps my hiking partner thinks, "Agony? I've done that. It's over-rated."
Agony might indeed be over-rated when it is imposed arbitrarily from the outside. But when it is played at, voluntarily, it adds spice to life. It is even noble.
In the real world there are many things about the job, family, weather, etc., that people wish were better; but they're not, and an individual is usually powerless to change them, at least in the short term. All he can do is try to keep them from bothering him by using some mental discipline and creativity.
Most adults accept platitudes like this, but practicing them isn't so easy. For instance I currently enjoy a rare driveway-sitting gig in a uniquely beautiful area, Ouray CO, while enjoying house amenities. Most travelers would consider themselves extremely lucky to have an opportunity like this.
But the weather has turned against Ouray, for about ten days now. Remember that most people yearn all year for September and October, since autumn is usually the best time of the year. But this year, I'm missing it. Yea I know, boo-hoo.
I haven't even been back on the road for a month yet, and I'm already backsliding into spoiled brat mode. This shows that a 3-year attempt at residency didn't bring me back to the real, adult world.
So why did my hiking partner take off this morning, guilt-free, for warmer and dryer climes? Let's do a little "wandrin" about that. I claim that comfort, ease, and perfect weather are insipid and bland on a permanent basis. Far more interesting are challenges of one type or another. The roller-coaster of Agony and Ecstasy is also quite interesting. Perhaps my hiking partner thinks, "Agony? I've done that. It's over-rated."
Agony might indeed be over-rated when it is imposed arbitrarily from the outside. But when it is played at, voluntarily, it adds spice to life. It is even noble.
Comments
Agony of the weather? THAT is the mistake everyone makes...
IF... you confront and fight the weather, it will ALWAYS win, it will crush your butt like an empty pop can. You want joy? You want to be Alive?
Well then, EMBRACE the weather... get WITH it. Stop fighting it and revel in the fact that you're FREE in it!
I've spent Most of my life IN the weather. Chasing cows at -10. Riding the desert, busting brush at 115. I rode 3,000 miles last year in pretty much 24/7 rain up in Alaska.
I was THERE. I was alive, Free on the Earth... I have those memories of each breath, each step. The sound of the rain on the tent roof. The fresh scent of the rain as I rode. The feel of Hail on my hat, as we sat on a hillside, waiting for the storm to pass, so we could push the cows the rest of the drive for that day.
I remember how hard it was to even take a breath on a motorcycle, at 65 mph in Arizona, when the temp busts over a hundred. The smell of the dry pines in the heat... or in the snow of winter on top of the Mogollons.
Stop whining about the weather! Ya'll could be... standing in the aisle of a hardware store, selling plumbing parts to people who have little idea how to put 'em together!
You're Free on the Freaking Earth! and you're worried 'bout the weather? You should be giggling like madmen!
p.s. Thanks for going easy with those dot dot dots! (grin)