Nov
6
2009

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Time and Pressure

by Going Slowly

Tyler

It is hard to fathom that we're taking a ferry to Africa in less than 24 hours. Every now and then, one of us will turn to the other and say, "Hey guess what? We're going to Tunisia!" Outside of these moments, it hardly seems real. Even more incredible to me is that we've been going to a new place almost every day for seven months.

Honestly, living a nomadic lifestyle can dull some of the wonder that comes with a voyage to a distant place but our zeal for travel is always completely and overwhelmingly renewed when we cross a border. Each new country we pass into is full of unique things to see and explore!

I can't wait to ride a camel in the Sahara, see Hannibal's Carthage, and visit hammams and mosques and kasbahs. I'm excited to see the Star Wars set of Tataouine and to photograph it in great detail for my little brother Gabriel. I'm eager to try Tunisian cuisine, hopeful that I will like couscous and chakchouka and kamounia. A plethora of things yet undiscovered will be laid out before us in just a matter of hours; bicycles and camera at the ready, I can't wait.

Tara

I rarely think of us as biking "around the world" and can scarcely believe it when I look at the growing trail of markers on our map. We just cycle every day, and not even very far compared to most cycle tourists. Embarking on this adventure has completely changed how I think about the passage of distances and time. It used to be that a project which would take many years to complete felt totally insurmountable to me. This trip, along with Tyler's unfailing support, has really made one thing crystal clear to me: time and pressure are all I need to make my dreams a reality.

The more time we spend on the road the better I become at wielding vast amounts of perspective, being able to plan ahead five and ten and twenty years from now, all the while focusing on each day as it comes. It isn't that hard either, just pick a goal and work on it systematically every single day! If I had truly understood this earlier in my life, I might have done something like get a masters degree right after college, and I certainly would have more money in savings! Years aren't very long units of time and realizing that has really helped me make better use of today. That's all there is, anyway. The present moment.

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