" The Adventure within a Journey might stop but the Journey itself never does".

I must have written pages and pages about this space here at "The Oasis". It is a few acres, mainly a mixture of brown and beige right now only mixed in with total silence. My Center of the Universe is here which includes my Son and Mother at rest, some solar, water catchment, it is everything we need and most importantly shielded from the outside world as we do come out only to experience the good and leave the bad on its wayside.

We already had a long walk this morning witnessing a sunrise as beautiful as ever sharing it only with one star hanging in there. The colors changing from a dark blue to magenta to every other color in the spectrum slowly being brushed in the skies only made this space grow on me even more. I cannot explain it. I just cannot. It is timeless being here as the days move on inexplicably and nightfall arrives before I know it. I don’t have much of an idea about what we do in between, but regardless, it seems that the calendar keeps moving on.

As also does our Journey. Throughout a discussion with a Friend we tried to differentiate in today’s Industry of the outdoors, mainly motorcycling, as it has become an Industry [unfortunately] the difference between an Adventure and a Journey. Of course as always this page is only my humble opinion. I am not putting down Adventure as it is a real part of a Journey but not heightened by certain components. Adventure requires constant moving and often because of today’s Social Media’s 15 second of fame, self gratification, "something" maybe outrageous like the cliché of a motorcycle laying in the mud, a bad fall, an accident of some sort or another, a handful of broken parts next to a puddle of oil on the ground or literally a new image I have been seeing lately, a motorcycle half buried in the ground while still upright. Our video made by Go Pro will never reach millions of viewers. That was never the point. It does not have the sensationalism needed to be so. We did not have an accident, I did not burst in flames, Spirit did not get trampled over. The contents are not of an Adventure but of a Journey. The comments I read are of quality and not quantity and without putting ourselves on a pedestal many writing this was the best video Go Pro has ever made.

Of course Adventures also catches my attention, such mishaps I must say "staged or not", while ourselves being on the road I know what it takes to have such an adventure! Sometimes blood, often sweat and tears… It is the "we rode 462 miles today in 9 hours and 32 minutes". It is the "I have ridden so many States and only have so many more to go". It is the "We have ridden 44 countries and 52 more to go". There is a goal, there are numbers, calendar, a clock or two, there is pushing, overdoing. There is the constant inner flow of pumping information into the Social Media platforms as often the Adventure is not even pursued for oneself but for Facebook or Twitter or Google Plus. It is sharing no doubt but all more on the physical side and a "look at me banner" style of the ongoing.

Versus the Journey as this has been written by Graham Field, a man with 25 years traveling experience "Who are you doing this trip for? If it’s enviable Facebook statuses, likes, shares, and re-tweets then perhaps you need to reassess your objectives. If it’s to look, see, experience, learn and report back than good for you. Inspire, enthuse, inform and encourage". Such powerful words "inspire, enthused [I like this one!], inform, encourage… A Journey is mental, spiritual, thoughtful, it is beyond an Adventure. It is an Adventure Plus… It is a mental state of mind.

Is there a fine line? There is and yet I can discern both sides of that thread. I don’t want to be a hypocrite as yes, we are on Facebook even with two pages and one for our Coffee Photo Table Book. We are on Instagram which automatically also posts on Twitter. We are even on Goggle+ which by the way I do not understand a thing and leave alone. I also don’t want to be a hypocrite because I know we have had over five and half million visitors to this Journal and we do have sponsors but, the big but, as others with sponsors on Adventures we are not owned by them. They are all products offered to us, I try them and everyone that has a banner/logo on these pages are products that I love. There are no conditions, they do not suck the Life out of us. This Journal is not present for all the reasons above.

My photos more often than not have nothing to do with the context I write. I actually have had some complains about that. It is a Journey. There is no goal, no destination, often no routes. It is physical yet more mental than anything else while sharing from the Heart is one aspect. Sharing mildly as I call it, sharing what to my mind and eyes is worthy for others and myself. I do not plaster on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram on the hour as I found out one can even have automated scheduled messages going out. We often keep to ourselves for days and once in a while a picture of our surrounding is so majestic, so unforgettable that I do "want" to share it versus "have" to share it. That to me with often a quote associated with the moment is "The Journey".

I generally have never been able to find out who is it that is on an Adventure. Their character, their personality, their mental path. None of it is generally shared, which in a way I can understand as not everyone is an open book as I am. Maybe it matters to them for others to not know who they really are, the importance for them being the physical path. Maybe it is their upbringing to not divulge intimate aspect of what drives them. Of course that is OK. It merely turns into entertainment yet to me missing the Human aspect I find so important. All I know is the fact that they like wine or beer, sometimes whiskey to the point when I wonder if one hand of theirs is on the handlebar and the other holding a bottle… Their motorcycle brand and farkles added, mileage, hours ridden but yes, the photos and routes help.

I know I am being harsh, no doubt. But maybe, who knows, some Adventurers will start being on a Journey instead and pour out their Soul and Heart so we can all truly benefit and learn from each other as the road demands mind over matter in its non stop fashion… I apologize if I have offended any, it is never my intention.

A new video on You Tube…

Stay well,
              Ara and Spirit