Freinds in Low (on the map) Places
Sunday, 27. July 2008, 22:54:28
I have a dear friend who is a reporter in Mexico City for a large US company who I met through surfing. Even though he is a little younger than I am he has been a great source for "adult" conversations. He has so much passion and energy for life that he is exactly the kind of person to bounce ideas off of during my search for my calling. I hadn't corresponded with him in a while so I wrote him a letter telling him about the beginnings of my adventure across the country, which I have also talked about on this blog. He wrote me back, telling me of his travel plans to Spain and back to the States to see family and a possible hop down to the Caribbean for some warm water waves.
I'm posting my response to keep a record for myself. Because not these communications are as much a part of my journey as the places I visit. I hope that I can read this later and find that I have taken my friend's or my own advice and found myself closer to finding my passion.
Brah-Dude,
One night stands happen. It is our zest for life that lures us into such ventures and we occasionally are no more than passengers on the ride of our lust.
Trippp is moving to Maui on the 12th of August. I'm hoping to catch him one more time in Chapel Hill before I start the HoJa march. I am excited to walk, but I do feel that I could be spending my time spending the same amount of money crashing on your couch and checking out MC or revisiting my love affair with Barbados. I got the taste of hostels again in Montreal and it lingers still. Meeting people and hearing their stories is something that I really love; everybody's story is unique, but the more stories you hear, the humanity that connects us all surfaces and I think it's a very cool thing. Plus meeting fellow travelers is a special circumstance, you can create accelerated friendships that can be so amazing because of the sureness of their brevity.
It sounds like you well and spry in Mexico, which is good to hear. Trippp and I spoke a lot about you and your sister on our drive. We agreed that you both have a solid head on your shoulders and are not only sure in your shoes but perceptive to the undercurrents of group dynamics - basically you are pretty chill. Most of this was stirred by a seminar I took for work about personalities. We took a test that told us our unconscious motivator in life. Mine was to seek enjoyment and avoid pain - not too bad. But you also have a secondary set of behaviors, adding some complexity to your Print. The seminar was fun and added a lot to our ongoing conversation about our parallels in circumstance: achieving a success that brings no satisfaction. It helped answer the question we have both been asking ourselves, how can we walk away from such great opportunities, opportunities that my family has never come upon so easily or that my classmates from high school and college haven't found. No offense to Joney and Whitney, but having my two closest college buddies still living at home makes it hard for them to be good sounding boards for someone in my situation. I think you and I have some things in common that the others don't in that we are thinking bigger, not in subjunctive fantasy, but with the weight of responsibility. We feel we are capable of big things and therefore prohibited from squandering the opportunity. From what I know about you, you want to make an impact in a positive way on human issues that really matter. Me, I feel like a sports car with the engine revved but the transmission in neutral, yearning to charge on all cylinders just unable to pick a direction. But I did learn a valuable lesson over the past 18 months and that is what I don't want. Seattle will bring change. If it is not what I truly want I will change again, but I am at least putting the car in drive. There is a creative and passionate spirit in the Northwest and I hope to know it. I hope that I find something to pursue for more than money and security. I am young still and the zest for life that leads us to lustful indiscretions can also lead us to where we most need to be.
Send some surf pics, or any pics for that matter, if you get a chance. I just bought and SLR (Cannon EOS Rebel XTi). I'll pass on anything worthwhile that I take on my way out West.
Good luck and good waves brah,
NCB
I'm posting my response to keep a record for myself. Because not these communications are as much a part of my journey as the places I visit. I hope that I can read this later and find that I have taken my friend's or my own advice and found myself closer to finding my passion.
Brah-Dude,
One night stands happen. It is our zest for life that lures us into such ventures and we occasionally are no more than passengers on the ride of our lust.
Trippp is moving to Maui on the 12th of August. I'm hoping to catch him one more time in Chapel Hill before I start the HoJa march. I am excited to walk, but I do feel that I could be spending my time spending the same amount of money crashing on your couch and checking out MC or revisiting my love affair with Barbados. I got the taste of hostels again in Montreal and it lingers still. Meeting people and hearing their stories is something that I really love; everybody's story is unique, but the more stories you hear, the humanity that connects us all surfaces and I think it's a very cool thing. Plus meeting fellow travelers is a special circumstance, you can create accelerated friendships that can be so amazing because of the sureness of their brevity.
It sounds like you well and spry in Mexico, which is good to hear. Trippp and I spoke a lot about you and your sister on our drive. We agreed that you both have a solid head on your shoulders and are not only sure in your shoes but perceptive to the undercurrents of group dynamics - basically you are pretty chill. Most of this was stirred by a seminar I took for work about personalities. We took a test that told us our unconscious motivator in life. Mine was to seek enjoyment and avoid pain - not too bad. But you also have a secondary set of behaviors, adding some complexity to your Print. The seminar was fun and added a lot to our ongoing conversation about our parallels in circumstance: achieving a success that brings no satisfaction. It helped answer the question we have both been asking ourselves, how can we walk away from such great opportunities, opportunities that my family has never come upon so easily or that my classmates from high school and college haven't found. No offense to Joney and Whitney, but having my two closest college buddies still living at home makes it hard for them to be good sounding boards for someone in my situation. I think you and I have some things in common that the others don't in that we are thinking bigger, not in subjunctive fantasy, but with the weight of responsibility. We feel we are capable of big things and therefore prohibited from squandering the opportunity. From what I know about you, you want to make an impact in a positive way on human issues that really matter. Me, I feel like a sports car with the engine revved but the transmission in neutral, yearning to charge on all cylinders just unable to pick a direction. But I did learn a valuable lesson over the past 18 months and that is what I don't want. Seattle will bring change. If it is not what I truly want I will change again, but I am at least putting the car in drive. There is a creative and passionate spirit in the Northwest and I hope to know it. I hope that I find something to pursue for more than money and security. I am young still and the zest for life that leads us to lustful indiscretions can also lead us to where we most need to be.
Send some surf pics, or any pics for that matter, if you get a chance. I just bought and SLR (Cannon EOS Rebel XTi). I'll pass on anything worthwhile that I take on my way out West.
Good luck and good waves brah,
NCB
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