Better For It

Right now, as I write this, the wind is whistling through the cracks in Bert's armour; rain is pattering on his roof. We are in the town of Strachan on the very west coast of Tasmania and it's gone cold. Two days ago I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt — now it is a tuque and my fleece. It may be because we are on the west coast which is known for cooler, wetter weather, but it is hard to ignore that it is now almost mid April and the weather is changing for all the countries in the southern hemisphere.

One week ago, we left behind New Zealand for Tasmania. After Canada, New Zealand is the longest time I have spent in a country — two and half months. I am grateful for the experience. A goal for our journey when we began was to reset and reclaim ourselves — uncover a different way to be — and I am thankful for New Zealand and all the people we met during our tour around the north and south islands for providing such a welcoming space for that to begin to happen. While driving around and discovering New Zealand, we were also in the process of discovering our new selves. It was an opportunity to step back and observe who we were, without the clutter and distractions of a job, media, obligations. A good clear look. And then begin to reshape that model — grow into what needs to come next.

I liked New Zealand. I felt comfortable there. We did and saw a lot in those two months and it flew by. Planning our adventure months before, it seemed like a massive amount of time — after six weeks on the road we'd be backtracking and searching for new places to visit! And yet, two months only scratched the surface. There was much we had to choose to pass up and we ended up staying on an extra week in order to visit Mount Cook and other places we still wanted to experience. The deeper you go, the more there is to see, more to explore. Every area, town, national park and lake can be unpacked with interesting stories, history, things to discover and learn. It makes me wonder if I will ever be able to travel for short periods again, knowing how much I am skimming over. Here in Tassie, with only two weeks to grab hold of a slice of Tasmanian life and culture, we know we are leaving so much aside and not getting a clear, complete picture of the authentic Tasmania. You accept this is how it is right now, but still it can be frustrating. It's also expensive here (New Zealand was down right discount compared to Australia) and if we spent more than a month here, we'd have to monetize the blog just to survive...

Jenn said this the other day as we were bobbing along in creaky old Bert, trying not to add to the roadkill population on Tasmania's highways, "I am so glad we did this trip now, at this point in our lives."

She's right. We will be better people for it going forward into whatever comes next. With this gift of time and space comes the responsibility to put to good use what we learn. I have learned that you don't have to have it all planned out, that you can go and work it one step at a time, let it unfold and it will come together, probably better than any plans you could organize. That when you're tired, you should listen to your body and stop for the day. That when you feel despondent you should probably eat something — and if you still feel despondent after that, it's not forever, but for that moment. That things you fret about lose importance and fade away. That I am so fortunate to have a true partner to share this experience with. That there are many other ways to lead a life. That when you jump the tracks and forge out in a new direction, the world doesn't collapse, it just gently shifts and slowly keeps spinning. You're fine. Keep going.




This adventure now is setting us up for the next stage in our lives, whatever that will be.