MILE - 16,665.9

......"we all know the end of the story, it's always the same, we struggle to understand it's meaning, so if we know the end of the story than it must be the journey that's important"......

Eulogy written for Nicholas Romeo by Frank Romeo 

journey

jour-ney

verb, noun,

1. an act or instance of traveling from one place to another,

2. something suggesting travel or passage from one place to another, (the journey from youth to maturity) (a journey through time) (the journey from birth to death)

Mile 16,665.9 brings me back to where I started, HOME. Four months, 35 states, three countries, and countless adventures on the journey of a lifetime brings me back to where I began. Ironically in my last adventure I faced off with my childhood mates, some of which grew up in the very room I'm writing in right now. 

I started my journey as a verb but somewhere, sometime, someplace, I realized that all along I was inwardly dealing with a noun. Perhaps on a mountain, perhaps in a canyon, maybe alone or maybe in a crowd, I was on a journey. ---jour-ney---2. something suggesting travel or passage from one place to another (the journey from birth to death).

I left The Big Chill, Charlotte NC, and headed north. Spending the night in a truck stop I wrapped myself in a sleeping bag and curled up in the back of the van. It's snowing and the roads are icy so I called it quits for the day. Anxious, excited, nervous, and tired I was at a crossroads in my journey and my mind was racing. To dangerous to drive yet to anxious to sleep I posted The Big Chill. Drifting as I wrote about a wonderful childhood I quietly went off into the night, sleep wise that is. The last five days were as remarkable as any previous adventure and I treasured them in a special place in my heart.

The people places and things we acquire, physically, emotionally, and spiritually weigh on us in different ways. Some are good and some are bad. In either case we, as an extension of their lives, deal with the energy in different ways. If I allow the negative energy to penetrate my world I invite failure and despair. Yet if I understand it and take even a moment to embrace it I can overcome and turn that negative into a positive. This journey has challenged me in ways I could never imagine and in turn I have willfully challenged myself. By championing my own destiny I have overcome obstacles and comfortably moved   forward. The past hasn't always been easy and yet I feared the future. Only now, after challenging myself, do I proceed with confidence and look forward to new beginnings. I've experienced so much and yet there is so much more it's overwhelming. You can't go back, your unhappy with the present, and the future is uncertain so you challenge yourself, for better or for worse, and in the process reinvent and rediscover a new you. Thus, the essence of my journey.

Aesthetically the world I visited was mysyerious and beautiful but I feel it lacking in true value. In summary it was the people that touched my life that's important and warrant recognition. Our world is fascinating but the positive energy of the people I crossed paths with are what I value. The summary of my journey is depicted in the photos of those people. Thank you for the love and energy worthy of the adventure of a lifetime.