For myself it’s never about reaching the end.  My goal is not to arrive on a beach somewhere and shout, "Hey, look what I did!"   To do that is sort of a cheat.  When you think about it, none of us doubt that we will complete the journey.  Knowing somewhere in the back of your mind that you will make the crossing or get around the island dulls the victory in a sense.  The only difference between a day trip and a 3 month journey is the length of time in the middle.  The end of both, is just that.  The end. There has to be more to it than that.  Once the journey is over, it’s in the books. A memory.  It’s the past.   I’m not one to live on glory days.  You can certainly enjoy sharing the experience, writing, presenting and such.  But soon it’s time again to move ahead. That’s probably what drives some people to the next adventure. Not to rack up "victories", but to live a new experience.

When you begin a journey you take your life with you when you go.  You don’t run from it, or leave it behind. The angels and devils that exist within you are as integral to your journey as your compass.  I think back to last year when at this time I was overwhelmed in a deep sense of depression.  So much so, that I was prescribed meds to get through the days.  Back then I was looking forward to my  summer trips as a "cusp" of sorts.  A marker where I would pass through some personal turmoils and come out on the other end on a new course. A new enviroment is often itegral in providing a new perspective. I was quite desperate then, to break the circumstances in which I felt I was drowning. The thing is, when you take a blind leap, you don’t really know what’s going to happen.  You could end up somewhere completely different, or in truth you could end up right back where you started.  Sort like riding in Willie Wanka’s "Wankavator", you just hit the big red button and hold on, cuz you never really know what’s going to happen. I’d certainly never advise anyone to take that approach to life.  But for me it’s often the only way.  The only way I’ve found to break complancency or fear is in the end, just to jump.

The only thing you can ask of others is that they let you go.  Luckily the people who really know and care about you in the end, will always do that.  Their faith that in the end you’ll get your head screwed on right, is often the strength  you need when you can’t find anything else to stand on.  Each one of us is lucky enough to have a few of these good people in our world.

Now as I put together presentations about 2007 I of course wrap it up in paddling.  We went from point A to Point B.  Here is what we saw, here are the conditions we faced.  All of that makes for a good adventure story. After all, "It’s about the trip". Yet in the wings of those experiences are those few people stood quietly cringing as they watched me deal with my demons and make both wise and foolish choices along the way. In putting 2007 in the books I can’t say that every issue is solved.  Of course not. But one thing I did learn was that I’m not nearly as alone as I felt a year ago.  And that, is an amazingly good feeling.