The Evolution of The EXPEDITION Project
"But to look back from the stony plain along the road which led one to that place is not at all the same thing as walking along the road; the perspective, to say the least, changes only with the journey; only when the road has, all abruptly and treacherously, and with the absoluteness that permits no argument, turned or dropped or risen is one able to see all that one could not have seen from any other place."
James Baldwin, Go Tell it on the Mountains
The Long Road Ahead
“Success is not a place at which one arrives but rather the spirit with which one undertakes and continues the journey.”
Alex Noble
They say hindsight is 20:20 vision. What they forget to mention is that you earn that vision by having the courage to go somewhere. As I packed my 4x4 on the 31st December 2011, I had no idea what the next several months would entail. As with any journey, there were uncertainties. That was a given. Understood. Accepted. The only thing you can bank on as a traveller is that the journey will find you. But only if you hit the road.
The road to your destination is littered with intersections, potholes and hitchhikers. Sometimes you wonder if you will ever get there and you suddenly remember why, as a child, you always asked “Are we there yet?!” Is this detour just a scenic delay or a risky departure? It might even end up being a path of least resistance with surprises along the way. Sometimes you find yourself on a lonely road less travelled and sometimes on a highway swarming with the journeys of others. Some follow their GPS; some follow their instincts; and some just drive, not knowing where they might end up.
“Some follow their GPS; some follow their instincts; and others just drive, not knowing where they might end up.”
Before our departure on New Years Day 2012, I had met as many anxious cynics as enthusiastic supporters. But no one could have known the fierce battle those two extremes were waging inside of me. To succeed with The EXPEDITION Project, I had to succeed as a person.
Eleven months later, it is time to evaluate The EXPEDITION Project 2012 in the cold light of dawn. Illusions and misconceptions must be cleared out. It is time to consider what has changed and what has remained the same. What was achieved and what was not. Who The EXPEDITION Project is, who I am, and where I am headed.
To be continued...
