I was sitting on the couch, quite comfortably I might add, when I realized I was quite bored. I couldn’t think of anything to do, anyone to call; shit I couldn’t even think of anything to think of. I was so bored I was very literally staring at the wall. I had analyzed ever crack of plaster and yellow stain on the 8 foot by 8 foot area. I didn’t even know I was doing it. My brain was just looking for some stimulation and I certainly wasn’t providing it. The automatic feeling when we’re bored is to think we are lonely as well. I couldn’t really quite place it; was I bored or lonely or both…or was I simply indifferent? Hmm, that was an interesting thought. I decided to google interesting people. I wanted to find some inspiration and I couldn’t seem to count on myself at the moment to muster such thoughts.
Now, I will say, googling interesting people doesn’t always come up criteria that I find interesting. Politics for instance; I’m not opposed to the subject but I hardly call it interesting. Business, hmm, well ok there are some interesting business people, but not really what I was going for. On the other hand when I cam across Colin Angus, I was immediately intrigued.
Colin is the first man to officially circumnavigate the entire planet using only human power. His journey started in Vancouver, British Columbia where he rode his bike to Alaska, rowed a specialized boat across the Bering sea, hiked and biked his way through Siberia and Europe and then proceeded to row across the entire Atlantic Ocean and followed that by riding his bike back through Central America up through Mexico and the US and finally back to Vancouver. Phewf, that is an interesting person. Not to mention inspiring. I started to think what I could do. Circumnavigating the planet…that might be a bit of a tall order, but the idea of some physical feet sparked my interest. I started by heading straight to the book shop. Inspiration was like a ball of snow and if I didn’t keep pushing it along, it would soon fall apart or melt. I ended up at the nearest huge box bookstore and asked for the book ‘Beyond the Horizon’ by Colin Angus. I started to read. I read for the entire evening and through most of the night. It’s the first time in my life I actually read a book front to back in one sitting. Other than when I read Black Beauty or Goosebumps books as a child of course. This man and his wife were my definition of interesting and amazing. They fit the criteria 100% and I was in genuine awe. I wanted to do something.
I decided I wanted to run through Europe. I got a little carried away with the idea and didn’t really think about the extensive planning that would have to go into such endeavors…but every adventure starts with an idea and a dash of recklessness. And in my case, a splash of red wine. Planning comes next. I decided that maybe I should start smaller. I would run Switzerland. I had heard so much about how beautiful the country was…not to mention hilly, but beautiful all the same. I figured that if I could run from Geneva to Zurich I would be satisfied. It was a start. I got my credit card out and went to book a flight. As I was about to press confirm transaction on my flight (for three days later), my room mate walked in. As I explained to her what I was doing I could see she disapproved. Maybe she disapproved of it more because of the purple wine mustache I had seemed to grow over the last few hours. She suggested I calm down and sleep on it. I don’t know about you but when I am excited about something…especially something spontaneous and adventurous…I can’t calm down and sleep on it. But, just to make her happy, I did. The next day when I woke up I still wanted to do it, but this time with a plan.
At this time I am in the planning stages of the trip. I am contacting people in every town on my route to find places to stay and cheap hotels. I am trying to figure out if the weather will be good enough and if I can get by on rusty grade school French. I want this idea to be reality! Just the planning alone has taken me out of my so-called ‘boredom’. There are so many possibilities for excitement and adventure around us all the time. Maybe we just think they are impossible or unlikely so we don’t bother to pursue them. Maybe people tell us we are crazy and irrational and that discourages us. All I know is there is nothing interesting nor exciting or rational about sitting on a couch staring at a wall. It’s time to get up out of this comfort zone where so many of us live. Make the impossible, not just possible, but happen.
“So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.” – Christopher Reeve
RUN 