A Philosophy to Journey - Part III: How to Sojourn
Costa Rican seaside cliffs
“Human life has always been lived on the edge of a precipice. Human culture has always had to exist under the shadow of something infinitely more important than itself. If men had postponed the search for knowledge and beauty until they were secure, the search would never have begun. We are mistaken when we compare war with “normal life.” [...] The insects have chosen a different line: they have sought first the material welfare and security of the hive, and presumably they have their reward. Men are different. They propound mathematical theorems in beleaguered cities, conduct metaphysical arguments in condemned cells, make jokes on scaffolds, discuss the last new poem while advancing to the walls of Quebec, and comb their hair at Thermopylae. This is not panache; it is our nature.”
Humans are journeyers. Nomadic, horizon-gazing, wayfarers. We are the descendents of the manifest-destined. The survived, standing on the shoulders of the departed. Our ancestors found the end of the world and we are the generations that settled there.
From our survey, it’s clear the roots of our family trees run deep. The fruits of labor of those that came before us are abundant and perennially in season. Streaming content has replaced star gazing. Food delivery and same-day shipping: hunting and foraging. We, the children of nomads, walk in place for miles without leaving our homes. Fear of the wolf at the door has been replaced with fear of all that is outside it.
A third of our modern lives are spent sleeping. Another third working. And the last third is left for everything that’s left. In a sense, the often-pondered work-life balance equation is already balanced. Our safe, settled lives are a tradeoff for the stirred soul of a roaming vagabond. But, the benefits of strong roots (abundance, stability, and safety) don’t come without cost. Whereas seeds scattered to the wind must find their way in the narrowest of circumstances.
Nicoyan Peninsula, Costa Rica
Our heirloom is not the roots of the tree but the seeds that plant new ones. With appreciation, we can carry a sapling with us and continue our ancestors’s nomadic spirit as our living inheritance. If we choose to journey, our flowering trees need not cast a shadow we cannot venture from. Instead, they can provide the shade to see the horizon less darkly and recover from our time in the sun.
How to carry the seeds of inheritance and journey into the world is the rub. Beyond the pragmatic tasks of purchasing passage and comfortable footwear, one’s approach requires far more consideration. A philosophy of life is a journey in itself that continues as long as we humans do. But, there are some tenets that serve as a good starting point once you have your aisle seat selected and boots laced.
Never Arrive
“We have never arrived. We are in a constant state of becoming.”
Living on a sphere there is always a horizon to travel to and never an end to come upon. Like the Ship of Theseus, our makeup changes perpetually and so does our destination. Embrace the dynamism of life and…
Allow Change to be Your Constant
“Change is the only constant in life.”
Improvise the jazz of your travels like a river over stones. The interruptions and not knowing what comes next is the journey when you…
Embrace the Unknown
“The very cave you are afraid to enter turns out to be the source of what you are looking for.”
Don’t look for the familiar path but instead embrace the difficulty of the unknown and…
Find Comfort in Discomfort
“I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life, the life of toil and effort, of labor and strife; to preach that highest form of success which comes, not to the man who desires mere easy peace, but to the man who does not shrink from danger, from hardship, or from bitter toil, and who out of these wins the splendid ultimate triumph.”
If it was easy everyone would do it. Know that we choose to be challenged and bravely approach the challenges we don’t choose. Our journeys truly begin when something goes not to plan. So, we do the best we can and…
Carry on God Willing
“Imagine a speck of dust next to a planet a billion times the size of the Earth. The speck of dust represents the odds in favor of your being born; the huge planet will be the odds against it.”
The odds of us being here are astronomical. We all hold a winning lottery ticket we never purchased and are playing on house money. With the Plinko discs of fate falling all around us, the best we can do is to…
Strive Imperfectly Toward the Ideal
“And now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good.”
The ideal is an unreachable destination our journey takes us toward. We’ll stumble along the way, collecting foibles as souvenirs while carrying the weight of our own heavens on our shoulders. But, our missteps will be fewer and load lighter if we…
Bring Only What is Necessary
“Why do you wonder that globe-trotting does not help you, seeing that you always take yourself with you? The reason which set you wandering is ever at your heels. What pleasure is there in seeing new lands? Or in surveying cities and spots of interest? All your bustle is useless. Do you ask why such flight does not help you? It is because you flee along with yourself. You must lay aside the burdens of the mind; until you do this, no place will satisfy you.”
Leave your baggage at home. This includes the portions of yourself concerned with the litany of tasks and minutia of details that truly don’t matter. Leave it all. All your incidentals will still be there when you get back if by then you still want to pick them back up.
Venturing away from the shade and exposing yourself to the disinfecting sun not only tans the pallor but also the disposition. Those journeyers who came before us, braved the exposure and in turn reaped the holistic benefits. It’s hard, if not impossible, to reap the same rewards in the blue-white glow of an LED light. A journey is not a cure-all dose but a therapeutic labor that takes patience and persistence to be rendered effective. With time, you may find yourself toiling uphill, like Sisyphus and his boulder, feeling the forces of resistance challenging you but grinning all the same.
Coming soon: Part IV: What to Pack