And it is done.

We are on the road. With luggage in tow. A child in hand. We have made the plunge to jump off of a ledge that most dream is never there.

But it is there. The chasm. The great and expanding distance from here to there. A divide, that exists between all cultures, countries, peoples…

But the divide is greatest between US and THEM. The U.S. and the Rest-Of-The-World.

The fear of what is out there keeps us Americans home. Well at least those of us without a gun and a flag and a desire to promote “Democracy.”

The travelers among us are given dirty looks, questioning phrases, and worst of all, a glazed and bored expression. They wonder why we want to explore those dangerous place, the dirty streets, and the backwards world. Maybe France they say… Or possibly England. There you can find a safe haven that is similar enough to enjoy…

But why off the beaten path? Why the less developed? Why the poor and the weak and the beggars that would seek to do us harm?

And there are moments I wonder why as well.

Since leaving the US of A, I have had many moments of fear and doubt. I have been plagued by uncertainty that what we were doing, what we had done before, was not doable any more. I almost believed that the fear of leaving, with a child this time, would be the fear that kept us there…

But stubbornness is a trait at times.

Despite the difficulties we now face: Kid got sick, planes cancelled, sleep depravation at an all time high… We power on. We face the fire. We taste the sun. And then it hits me…

This is The Road.

Hardships are to be expected. It is what it really is all about. To feel yourself walking through the fire. Being refined, being awakened, coming alive.

It is an adventure. An exciting ordeal. And I feel the fires burning. It does not come from the tropical sun. It comes from within, and without, from the great creator. And I feel my pen hand burning. Ready to write, to read, to travel, to live, to spend every moment until I burst, pursuing some unseen ideal.

C