Journaling – is this something that you do on a regular basis?
I do; usually a couple of posts per week is my average. It’s easy to do; it’s easy not to as well! I think it is very important to keep a log of what you experience, your thoughts, a bit of the “WHY” of your life. Why is it important? Here’s one good example: I can go back in my notes, my journal entries, and find out when I first started thinking about this crazy notion of walking the AT!
Like most ideas, it was not an epiphany. I did not wake up one morning, and think “Hark, I need to walk the AT to satisfy my purpose in life.” NO! It started from reading something, or some article in the news, or some aspect of camping that I was aware of because I also camp out on motorcycle trips.
The beauty of my notes, or journal entries, is that I can “guestimate” when I started with this crazy notion that a 6 month hike was necessary for my wellbeing.
Going back to my notes, my first thought about doing the AT was April 29, 2012. What piqued my interest? Well, I am an airline pilot. We all have crew bases, where we originate and terminate our flying. After 22 year with my company, they decide to reduce flying at my base, and I get “displaced” from flying at Boston to New York. This means that every week, I have to drive at least once to New York City and back to RI to go to work. Ouch; a 3 hour drive… So, I decide to listen to books on CD to keep me away. I go to my library, to the books on CD section, and come across Bill Bryson’s book “A Walk in the Woods”. It is all his fault!!! I read his book many years ago and loved it; so listening to it on CD was fun. I mentioned to my copilot that I had listened to it, and remarked “wouldn’t it be crazy to do something like that”, and a subconscious thought was born.
Pretty cool… Bottom line: keep a journal!
second journeys 