Building a bridge between Survival & Life
When I see Ireland Post cards I always wonder where such wonderful places are. Only now, after this short journey, I realised that to see the real beauty of Ireland you need to leave the main roads and venture along the most impervious bog-lands Sli (ways). Here some of the picture that I feel best represents the places I’ve walked trough.
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[singlepic id=9 w=320 h=240 mode=watermark float=left]Beyond those step is the last boggy field before the final 2 km stretch of walk to Boyle. Behind me 3 km of squashy and soggy moss, overgrown bramble bushes and dark forest trails. After 4 days of facing such kind of dilemmas, I stopped getting worried about it and made a quick assessment.
I stepped on the top of the ladder I could se no bull; but I know how deceiving this high fields can be, it is probably grazing bang on in front of the exit point. There is no visible post to guide the correct direction, with 12 kg on my shoulder in such tricky boggy ground, going downhill and with my dog sky along I don’t stand many chances to outrun a bull.
There was no way I was going to walk back this trail. I looked at the map to take my bearing a road should be just down the hill on my left. I followed the boundary and eventually found the exit, to the road and back few minutes after I was back on the trail with the Bull treat on my back.
It has been and incredible 4 days and I’ve just realized that I will have to do some work to tell the story on this blog so hang on you will hear all about it and see the fantastic landscapes of Ireland in the next few days.
Finally here we are. In few hours I’ll be on my way for Phase 1 of the Father & Son project. For 2009 the journey has changed a lot, the original spirit has remained the same and was the driver of all the changes. The journey is divided in two phases.
The plan is to divide the journey in 2 phases:
Phase 1 will involve me and my lovely dog sky walk along 120 odd kilometers of the decided route. During this phase I’m looking for key stop areas as well as places where I can leave the horse food along the way.
Phase 2 will involve Matthew riding cara and me walking the whole 120 km route again.
By the end of the journey Matthew and Cara will have walked over 120 Km. And I would probably be close to 240.
I will not bring with me the computer so I will not be able to keep a day to day up to date of the journey. But I will have a 2 days between Phase 1 and Phase 2, I will make an effort to publish a short update then.
[singlepic id=8 w=320 h=240 float=left]It has now been a couple of weeks that I haven’t posted any update here. It is now time to face reality. A while back Rachel asked me to reconsider the journey for a number of reasons, my reaction was somewhat that of disappointed, I was really looking forward to the adventure. And I was really counting on everyone in the family being bought into the idea. Adventure is all about crossing over into the unknown and experience discovery. Planning is a very small part of it too much planning for me would kill the entire experience. But when Matthew expressed that maybe it would be better to start with something smaller this year maybe a week treck just to see what it would feel like it.That took me aback. I literally frozen, at first I felt betrayed, then I started to realize that really the whole project was for the both of us to share a sense of partnership. I had considered the possibility not to complete the journey, that is a prerogative of the unknown, and I was prepare to keep my mind open and avoid being stubborn. I did not conteplate the possibility the journey wouldn’t even start. I really jearn that feeling of adventure.
It is now two weeks since then and I can’t still describe accurately what is going on inside me. Yes I for me is all about understand emotions, is the critical foundation of who I am. this journey for me is a mixture between my yearning for adventure, sharing a meaningfull experience with Matthew, and yes in part was also a way to get the attention I crave.
So today is time to take stock of that eat a little humble pie and admit that to myself. Yes because is not all there. After I sort of accepted the change in program something else started to surface. How am I going to deal with the fact I have been talking to everyone about this? what would they think of me? They will all believe that I’m backing out of this… and bla bla bla!!!
It is quite an irony to think that I was going to show my son what adventure is all about. really he showed me what purity of spirit is all about. two days ago while I was still grovelling about writing this post I heard him talking to my parents over skype and just plainly and unreservedly say : “by the way you know we are not going to do the full journey but just a week!”. what stroke me was his matter of fact attitude to it. I’m still worrying about it but he just accepted the situation as it is.
I’m so proud of Matthew, he showed me how to be honest with myself and simply accept that is ok to change your mind. Thank you Matt
To recall the words of Dewitt Jones “its on the edges that we find the winds that take us higher” this week Matthew helped me test my own internal edge face the truth I so often hide under excuses and justifications and admit to myself that I migth not be afraid of danger but I’m surely, still afraid of judgment.
Where to now? when I superimposed Westrack 2009 over the logo, I asked myself “do you men would there be a 2010? “And why not, maybe that is exactly what is all supposed to be. Maybe this is a never ending journey looking for a new edge to test in search for the currents that take us higher 🙂
Wow, on monday I send an e-mail to 800+ people announcing this journey. My heart was racing so fast that I had to get out of the house for a very long walk after that.
When I came back There was a lot of e-mail in my westrack inbox and for a minute I panicked “I wont be able to respond to them all!” I thought to myself. While I’m teaching communication I’m not that good at keeping in touch as I would like to.
Yet every single message I received was incredibly supportive and gave me a huge amount of courage to keep going.
After a while a thought started to form “Have I been sendimg out the right message? I’m wonder how many people will take up the challenge of a random act of Kindness?” I don’t know If I have sent the right message out but today I opened one mail and here it was ;-)) the very first Act of Kindness.
Thank you to Lucinda and Simon Boucher for making a donation to the Temple Street Children Hospital in Dublin. While I haven’t yet met Lucinda I know Simon since just over a year and you could always trust him in being the one to lead the way.
Thank you again guys.
I started the day like every day I had my breakfast and ready to go for a days work my dad,my friend,his dad and I started to build a tree house in a forest it is coming along well for one day. I think it will take at least two or three weeks before it’s finished. Then we will build a look out for it so we will have a big tree house. I’m very excited because it is the first time I am building a tree house so this is a new thing for me.
Yesterday I had lunch with Marianne Du Toit. I had mind mapped what I wanted o ask and I guess most of it was about practical matters, I was interested in understanding how to rise founds for the journey.
I have to say if I admired Marianne while reading her book, meeting her in person confirmed her genuine, inspiring, and generous character. Almost immediately I got faced with reality, often times I tend to get so carried away by my dreams and aspiration that reality gets a bit foggy.
Yet again she has been highly supportive of the project, and for that I have to thank you Marianne.
The one thing that I wasn’t expecting was the idea of self found my journey. That Idea caused me to think hard about the how am I going to make it happen. for the first time in years I’ve been driving back from Dublin to Leitrim without the company of my audiobooks, and surprisingly enough the 2 hour journey seemed so fast. so yesterday evening I spent some time reviewing my approach and visualize it on the site
Another day full of excitement, I’ve seen this before, I’ve been here before. It’s the place where I get to start an engine and the engine gets into motion. It’s the place where things happen and the only one that can stop them is me….
OK enough of being cryptic. Let me explain what went on today that it was really exciting and energizing.
This morning I was fresh of enthusiasm for having set up the web site that I decided to share it with few people, just to get an initial feedback. But before I did that a thought just come to mind and I could not resist. Few months ago when I first conceived the idea of this project Rachel truly believed I was gone crazy, yet being the supportive person that she is she gave me a book as a present, Crying with Cockroaches from Marianne Du Toit. Since I started reading the book I truly believed the project was possible and I also had a compelling feeling I had to talk to Marianne. Well today I finally took the courage to find Marianne’s e-mail address and write to her and she kindly agreed to meet me. And I also got a lot of constructive feedback and support from my friends.
This is the same feeling I had before on at least tree occasion when I decide to “publish myself in the world”, to use Dawitt Jones own words, “then you never know what can happen”.
It’s up to me now to keep the this alive to completion. And I don’t mean to reach Mizen Head, in time at all costs, but just get on the bigger journey this project is all about… Love and Connectedness…
What a great day!!! 😉
Today is quite a big day, I’ve started setting up the site for the project. Is a big day because entering information about the father & Son project is making it real.
There are a lot fears as my mind is projecting the whole journey forward.
Yet today is a day for courage. This adventure is all about finding that courage to do something meaningful, and overcoming any apparently logical explanation why it cannot be done.
It almost an interesting combination that today is st. Valentine, this project is about love. Love for each other as human beings, love for adventure, love for the beauty of nature and love for life.
This is my first entry, the site is not yet live, but is taking shape very quickly as write on this page and with it the energy and enthusiasm is building up.
I can already see ahead some of the challenges I encounter and I’m sure there will be many I can’t even begin to fathom, yet I know that each of these challenges will also bring new incredible discoveries, and that is what I look forward to.
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