To Mount St Helen… WA

Sunday, July 15th, 2007

The pictures today might not make much sense with the text that follows, besides this paragraph. The jury is out on having an 24/7 Internet connection or not… nicer to have one! This has become difficult! We are camping near Mt St Helen… too many trees and mountains still… even the GPS rarely works! Had to come to Morton to post this and more tomorrow on the actual trip! We camped next to the Northwest Moto Guzzi group… a coincidence after meeting Dave and his dog on the road… we are not the only ones!!! A great time which I will write about it for tomorrow… In the meantime… some thoughts after discussing my Journey with other riders…

 

As the years creep up in numbers, or maybe it is just the long time that I have been around (I feel like it quite often), I start getting more and more philosophical about this life passing by. The longer I am around, the faster it seems to roll on… almost “anxious” to miss grabbing this scenery or feeling this experience. Waves of “rushing” come along and only my awareness slows me down as I keep telling myself… I do the best I can with what I have… my eyes have seen this much, my ears have heard so much, all the senses have absorbed the experiences frame by frame… this movie will always have a happy ending, script or no script.

I never have mixed religion, politics or certain other unnecessary unwelcome paths of thoughts on this site, there is plenty of it out there… however, for years I have known that the only way to deal with what I wrote in the above paragraph has been trying to live for “now”, this very “moment”… this second as right now typing, as little cells connected to each other, each themselves totally self sufficient, surfacing one by one on an invisible moving string forming life itself.

The town of “Elbe” with its train restaurant… and “Hobo Motel”… expensive… $150 a night!

I do not consider it a religion because it is not, I have always seen it as the core of the daily acceptance of our well being through life’s journey. It is maybe as compared to a mathematical equation?… formula?… an awareness fact that would make this life a bit more comprehensible, easier to deal with. I think about it because I often wonder as to why I like to live the way I do! I cannot say unconventional, as to what “is” conventional… as to what “is” normal? Just a bit different than the mainstream if I could define it maybe?

       

And sometimes it is easy, sometimes real hard, regardless of how many years I have tried over and over to stay afloat with that theory. The reality of it is… what can we do about the future? Either a second away or years away. We can plan, we can pre-think its path, our desires… but too strong of a wish will only make us miss “now” with its full enjoyment, or savor the fact alone that we are here. And the past is the past… years of schooling which never stop up to the second before this one! I cannot let it rob my “now” either even if filled with content memories or sadness from unexpected events.

             

I find materialism making this a hard task at times, it did in the past anyhow. I learned a while back that “things” just where not doing it. I have not learned to let go of it all and sit under the tree for a few years waiting for… I try to balance possessions with a sense of necessity… Everything I own is here with me… with only a couple boxes left behind filled with family and personal items. The less there is, the more I have, as it allows me to feel my surroundings which is not mine to have but only to experience and feel. Many have families and I do understand the need to provide adequately… reason for much work, much commute, many chores… hardships I hope done with the pleasure to provide morally and materially to our next generation.

        

But that span should only last about one third to one quarter of our lifespan, that is if we all live to be 80 and more. Can’t then the programming of our minds generate a better well being for ourselves, mainly by allowing room for what I call “quality time”, either with our family… friends… as in my case… with my buddy Spirit! I did not write the script… the pages just kept turning in my life… I did grab some door handles and this is how the daylight is shining on me “now”. When given the choice, I did choose a direction, it was always the same one. A bit of the beaten path… living on a sailboat… working six months a year and camping the other six… working at my profession, which is still my passion, on my own terms… and today, well, not knowing the future… planning to be on the road for many years.

A Guzzi Bar?…

But not just any roads… I cannot avoid the wonderful sceneries of some National Parks… as crowded as they are, it would be a shame to miss their experience… I cannot avoid at time entering a big city for reasons that makes it a must… But more and more I see the beauty of the “erased areas”, the roads less traveled, the beauty of nature itself without being a national treasure by seeing into it what maybe others have not. That moment when the sun is shining its last rays on “any mountain” or “any beach”… I call it the “freedom” of roaming and sharing.

        

The experience of living on the road, versus traveling on the road, is just too big not to share. I am still learning its ways, its complexities… believe it or not, its discipline at times, its daily lessons… I know for a fact that some of you reading have embraced this lifestyle since writing here and some others are contemplating it… many wishing, for who I hope that day will come. And that “is” my pleasure to maybe make just a slight difference in other’s lives caught up on a path that maybe is not the preferred one. It can change… it can.

     

Beauty is all within… happiness follows…I better quit while I am ahead… or… was I ever? You be well…as always.

Enjoying the site? the pictures? Or simply finding it entertaining? The why not consider supporting it with a contribution? We would appreciate it… See the “contribution” link above… if snail mail here is the address…

Ara Gureghian

853 Vanderbilt Beach Rd #245

Naples Fl 34108

Ara & Spirit

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