Beginnings

Look with favor upon a bold beginning.
-Virgil

I don’t suppose ol’ Virgil was thinking about taking off cross-country with a some video cameras, a couple of laptops and an old RV. But his point is taken.

Beginnings for me are twisted up in anxiety and boundless excitement. Six years ago I began an international backpacking trip on a ferry bound for a dusty Mexican port. We sailed from Tampa, through the night. I remember standing in the darkness on the ship’s top deck looking into the blackness and wondering what was to come. I had no inkling what to expect on the Gulf’s other side, knew no one and didn’t even know how I’d find a place to sleep the next night. I was stressed, a little afraid, but still the excitement and optimistic anticipation seemed to bubble up from my chest.

Today, there are slightly fewer bubbles and a smidge more anxiety. Where will the next few months take us? Whom will we meet? Will anyone even notice what we’re doing? And will my old RV survive the trip?

I’m back on that dark ship deck in the Gulf of Mexico, another bold but uncertain beginning before me. I don’t know how this one ends, but I feel pretty favorable about what we start here today.

A little hokey, you say? You’re probably right. I promise a little less navel gazing and a few more relevant observations going forward.