Share The Road - On the road #19

You can be in the documentary this blog is based  on! Click here to tell us your definition of health. Day 19 90 miles Eureka to Fort Scott, KS Got on the road at 6:30 this morning -- a little later than I would like. I like being out there and watching the sun come up while we’re riding. Regardless, the morning mist was fantastic and we took some spectacular pictures on the road. I rescued a turtle from the middle of the road this morning. That was a great feeling as I’ve seen tons of them as roadkill from Texas on. This guy was right on the yellow stripe, just asking to get smashed. I picked him up, he ducked and peed all over the place. Can’t believe how much liquid he was carrying inside that little shell. Chris and I got into another discussion last night -- following up on the one we had the day before regarding food intake. He feels I’m being pushy with what I’m saying. I can understand him saying that -- he’s not the first to offer that reflection to me. I am passionate about what I believe in -- not to try to convince anyone that I’m right, just to offer points of view that have, perhaps, not been considered. The farther I go in life, the more I realize how “out of the box” I tend to be. I don’t do this for the sake of being different -- I follow my heart and soul. I question things -- always. I know this makes some people uncomfortable because it challenges them to question themselves. A lot of people would rather live a life of relative comfort, it seems, knowing only what they know and getting by with that. I won’t do that. I will remain open. I will continue to question. I will continue to consider “I don’t know” one of the most wise statements there is. Why? Because it leads away from ego and toward questioning, listening and new understanding. LATER... This ride feels long and hot today. My legs are a bit dead. One more roll and we’re at our location -- about 30 miles to go. Wish us luck . LATER... Some days just feel longer than others. I don’t know why. I feel an overall tiredness today -- which is kind of odd because I got good sleep last night (rare on this trip). I find when I’m in production that I generally don’t sleep that well. Then, usually, at the end of the production, I sleep very hard for a couple of days, sometimes getting sick to boot. It’s because it’s work on an uber level -- nothing I’d want to do for an extended period of time (define “extended” ? It’s relative). That’s one of the reasons I won’t feel an ounce of guilt about the big paychecks when they do start rolling in -- I’ve put in time adn paid my dues. I got a call from an agency I worked with in Vegas today. They offered to let me direct a piece they’re doing for a film festival -- the 48 hour film festival. It sounds like a lot of fun, unfortunately I’ll still be on the road. Not unfortunately because I begrudge this -- I would choose this every time if offered both things equally -- but unfortunately because it’s missed opportunity. That’s how it goes, though -- you give some to get some. I think everyone’s feeling a bit of fatigue today. We’ve been on the road a while now and we’re all missing the comforts of home to a degree. Gary expressed feeling some guilt about being away from home today -- much like I felt with my struggles last week. That’s okay -- it’s part of the journey.  You can be in the documentary this blog is based  on! Click here to tell us your definition of health.

Share the Road - On the road - Day #18

You can be in the documentary this blog is based 

on! Click here to tell us your definition of health.

Day 18

Mount Vernon to Eureka, KS

97 miles

My morning started with a little fuzz -- a bit of residue from my anger and darkness the last couple of days. The good thing was, I recognized it early and instead of going down that path, took inventory of the situation and made another choice -- a choice to be grateful for the things I have versus angry for the things I don’t. That shift made all the difference.

I know that being angry constricts my highest good. I make every effort to live to my highest good, to love with my deepest, most resonant heart. That can’t happen if I’ve shut down. Again, the anger may feel powerful -- and IS powerful -- for a moment. It doesn’t resonate, however. In fact, it’s a quick spend of energy followed by a low-energy hangover. These are all great lessons to relearn, time and again. The truly encouraging part is the recovery time -- if I recognize and make a different choice in short order, that shows me I’m in good spiritual/emotional shape; in the same way as regaining normal breath and heart rate after a hard run. The faster the recovery time, the better shape I’m in. 

We’re about half-way into today’s ride, at a SAG stop in Benton, KS. We have two more days of Kansas, I think. Today we were off the main drag for the first 40 miles or so -- all back roads and local roads -- really cool. There were lots of turns but Chris did a great job of marking the streets. 

The headwinds really picked up in the second half of the ride. I would much rather ride hills then have headwinds (“be careful what you ask for...”rings in my head). I was looking ahead to our course through Ohio/Pennsylvania and we have some significant climb days there. None of them top the ones we had out west, but there are several that will give us a workout, that’s for sure. 

We cooked out tonight -- very delicious. Restaurants are nice, but there’s nothing like cooking out to me. These RV parks don’t compare (obviously) to the beautiful state parks my dad and I stayed at last year. But, we just haven’t made the commitment to staying at beautiful locations -- it’s more convenience for the work at hand, which is completely understandable. 

Watched a little Dave Chapelle last night -- that brutha is funny. The laughter is so good for my soul -- tremendous healing power.

You can be in the documentary this blog is based 

on! Click here to tell us your definition of health.