I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear… I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life…”
I would like to tell you that this quote has great meaning to me after reading Walden by Henry David Thoreau; I know Thoreau’s quote because Dead Poets Society is one of my favorite movies. The lines have inspired me as it did the characters in the movie. Perhaps it has inspired me a bit too literately.
This quote is the best explanation of how I choose to live the rest of 2021. After months of living alone, quarantined in a small apartment, the idea was planted, plenty of free time allowed it to grow, and now it is a reality. I have made the decision to take a leave of absence from a dream job, live in a travel trailer, and tour the US on the ultimate road trip adventure.
While the images of going into the woods and sucking the marrow out of life might grab your attention, I’m drawn to the part about living a deliberate life. Life has come to feel a bit too much like life on autopilot. I find myself asking the questions of how actively involved I’ve been in charting my own path through life. In my training to become a leadership coach I learned about adult development and the progression from conventional to post-conventional. I’m finding myself at that period in life where the accomplishments and successes of the first half of life lost their luster and there is a longing for new priorities.
On May 1st, I will move into a travel trailer and head into the woods in pursuit of a grand adventure. I will travel through 32 States and visit over 24 National Parks. It will be a time of self-reflection, marking the end of a chapter in my life and indulging myself in a long pause before getting reestablished in Texas. The objective is to emerge with an enhanced perspective and deeper understanding of my values and priorities so that I move forward deliberately on a path of my choosing.
I welcome you as my travel companion. These navigational notes are the story of my journey of self-discovery, time spent asking myself the tough question, and getting out of my comfort zone in order to live a purpose driven and extraordinary life. A final thought from Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
