Robert Assagioli said “there is no certainty; there is only adventure.” After three weeks of driving around the Western bits of the United States, I can easily assure you that there is absolutely no certainty. Adventure was certainly apart of the trip. From four hour long detours to exploding tanker trucks to water shortages and freezing weather, we did not quite get what we were expecting. I certainly stepped out of my comfort zone a time or two. The trip was an amazing and exciting voyage into my beautiful country with its canyons and mountains and trees and sea lions.
On “This American Life” Ira Glass said “any road trip is going to feel longer than you think it will. And you'll be tired and you won't get a meal exactly when you're hungry. You never find a bed exactly when you want to go to sleep. And you're probably not going to find out what it is you got on the road to find out in the first place. And you know all that. You know all that going into it. And you still -- we all still -- buy into the cliche about road trips. That what a road trip stands for is hope. Hope. That somewhere -- anywhere -- is better than here. That somewhere on the road I will turn into the person I want to be. I'll turn into the person I believe I could be. That I am. And we hit the road. You and me and our whole great nation. With high hopes and no expectations for the future.”
I think he’s right. With every new trip and every new conversation I have with a stranger, I continue to grow and develop as a person. I have hope that I will continue to transform into someone who can do good things for the world and the people in it. Mostly, I hope that every path that each of us takes promotes harmony and acceptance and love between all peoples. I have met people whose opinions make my skin crawl, but I understand that sometimes it’s more important to be working together than to prove yourself. I think if we try hard enough, we could do incredible things.
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