1 On 1

I have said it before and I will repeat it cause I always found the phrase to really hit home, The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement......

My Hobo Cross tour was part ambition, part practice, part reverence, part ceremony and part therapy.

The past month had been SUPER rough, emotionally. Just lots of challenges and obstacles and growth when it comes to raising and developing the younglings in my life. Kids can be a challenge. There is so much responsibility that falls on parents shoulders and sometimes it makes you wonder if you were truly cut out to handle such a monumental level of responsibility. You do your best and you still second guess if what you thought was your best or a mistake. You get advice, but what makes them experts, cause they read a book, cause they studied with some scientist that don't know shiola about raising a child... Right who truly knows, when it all comes down to it.

I knew what I needed and I have needed it before, I needed some Vision, some spiritual guidance from the forces that propel this universe we exist in: I needed a quest. And I got what I wanted, I learned what I needed and I got exactly what I was looking for, let me elaborate.

Lessons I learned on my 31 hour journey:
1. Never fear to go into the unknown, simply because it is unknown. Sometimes what may seem to appear flat and featureless has tons of beauty inside.
2. Never be afraid to take advice from someone you don't know.(Hobo at paisley)
3. Never be afraid to accept help, sometimes you cant do it all alone.(Chet with is car ride from Marshall swamp to Santos, Lady at Alexander who gave me directions to the store, guy at Alexander who offered me some highly processed, sugar filled food to help my hunger, but still the gesture was beautiful)
4. No matter how impossible the road ahead seems or how hard the challenges get, there are somethings you cant quit on, and I cant quit doing my best as a Father, no matter how hard the road seems.(6 Flats, and I still made Marshall swamp before I ran out of options and even then If I would of had to walk I would have)
5. Stay Flexible, although you may have had a good plan to start with, always have options to lean on too.(my bag adaptions, and the magical rotating rocket launcher bottles, on the road they worked great on the stays, in the trails I had to carry them in my rear pockets)
6.Pay attention, always, sometimes, if something falls off, you cant just leave it behind, sometimes you cant be afraid to go backwards to then be able to go forwards.(unceccessary time trial to retrieve my flat kit, tools, baby wipes, bike lock and spare cell phone batteries and GPS charger)
7.The best things I have in my life cost nothing to spend time with.(the nature and beauty that surrounded me the entire times, the hidden gems that lay within reach of everyone)

When I was done, I finished refocused. I realized I have some ridiculous habits and that I need to spend more time with the people I love. More time with my sons and my wife and less time with my ideas and thoughts. I need to follow my own advice and exist in the moment, MORE. Tomorrow is never promised and the past is gone forever, all we have is NOW.

Day before Yesterday I went outside and for the first time in my life, played a game of 2 on 2 basketball, Naked Indian and Lil Naked Indian VS. Two Neighborhood kids. Lil Naked Indian had never seen me or even knew I could play ball. I think he was surprised by my athleticism. What he doesn't know, is that I have acquired the attitude of a professional athlete. And as a professional athlete, whatever I do I work hard and try to do my best at it. Could be basket weaving or canoeing or hiking, don't matter, but I do my best. I think I impressed him and I had fun. BTW we won.

Laters,

LOS