Above: Rob with ice and snow, Turkey
Rob Thomson is one of my heroes. Rob has been traveling by bicycle and skateboard for almost two years now and has crossed Asia, Europe, and the U.S. in the process. His website is inspirational and full of good information, anecdotes, videos, and photos. The piece below was taken from his website. Some of the points in it hit close to home for me.
Above: Rob Thomson´s skateboard rig in China (with a sweet tailwind!)
The Explorer-Adventurers
We have an insatiable thirst to experience the world firsthand.
We derive intense satisfaction in challenging, difficult, insecure, and uncomfortable environments.
We take the time to observe and absorb, because we are not racing. We are not competing with anyone but ourselves.
Our encounters with vastly different environments, lifestyles, and beliefs profoundly expand our interest and awareness of the world.
Witnessing meager standards of living forever changes our perception of the Western preoccupation with striving for material wealth.
When we return home, we feel delighted at regaining the little pleasures that have been denied to us in faraway lands.
We have frequent flashbacks of our expeditions and take pleasure in telling others our experiences.
We become tolerant of petty annoyances or discomforts and become patient in our projects.
But the ceasing of discovery and strong sensations precipitate in us a long emotional slump.
Sensations we once held to be exciting become less so.
Is it worth it? Like they say, “It’s better to have loved (traveled) and lost (come home) than never to have loved at all.”
Once we have eaten from the tree of knowledge, we cannot go back to ignorance.
While on expeditions, our attention is intensely focused and nothing else matters, but back home it is difficult to concentrate on what we are doing.
Our successes strongly reinforce our self-esteem. We can do anything, but we find we don’t really want to do anything but explore.
We dream of more adventures, and when preoccupation turns to obsession, we are bound to realize them.
We are fascinated with the stories of other explorers and we plan our expeditions to avoid their misfortunes.
Are we escaping from something or have we been unfortunate with normal life? The true weight of these factors lies hidden from us.
What do we search for? We don’t really know, until we find it.
Ultimately, we explore to find ourselves.
Our passion for adventure continues…
from Chris Goulet on
http://www.nucleus.com/%7Egouletc/01-Exhilarating_Freedom_in_the_Andes.htm
Posted in Inspiration, Interesting People
