Accepting Failure For What It Really Is

“Supposing you have tried and failed again and again. You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call “failure” is not the falling down, but the staying down.” -Mary Pickford



My life has recently been marked by an extremely hard pill to swallow. I’ve stopped the Trek. After a period of ups and downs hammered with some intense mixed emotions, there was no longer denying that the tides of life were leading me in another direction.

Three major hurdles ultimately took the wind out of my sails forcing me to re-evaluate the entire trek all together. First, it was a death in the family coupled with an open heart surgery on the same day. Needless to say, I was summoned back to my hometown of Cincinnati, OH. Afterwards, I went back on the road. A month or so later I fell to a sickness that marked one of the worst I’ve experienced in all of my adulthood. In the dead of winter and straight through the holidays, I was bed bound as I felt a shift of perspective on how to go about making the Trek possible in the coming of winter months. I decided that I would complete the east coast and do a little walking/biking/running as a means of mobility. Afterwards, I went back on the road. Within the week as I rounded the 300 mile mark in Savannah, GA, I was halted by a severe lack of preparation as I sputtered along for 40 miles on a bike that fell well short of my needs. After having lost my front brake within the first few hours I had a feeling it was about to all go downhill… Ultimately, the last 18 miles were of a wrecked back, butt and knee as I stood up on the pedals – unable to sit onto the seat of the bike. My body was a mess. I found myself hunched over a bench in the heart of downtown Savannah questioning everything. The free spirited Trek had turned into a fight against the current that in one way or another was beginning to feel more than I could handle or even wanted to handle at this point. The first two stops were by no means something I could have avoided… yet the third was definitely all on me. A bit more thorough on the preparation side of things would have put me in a completely different outcome I’m sure. But for all those who know me best, that’s just not my style. Yet a lesson learned and noted as I move into the future.

While I don’t intend to abandon the Trek all together, I have decided to piece through the stretches around the country and allow Project 3600 to be a lifelong journey where I grab legs of milage here and there as it feels right. 300 miles here, 1000 miles there. Walk some, bike some, run some. Whatever feels right. Because in the end, if I’m not following my heart I’m simply living a lie of chasing goals that have arbitrary meaning and value behind them.

The real lesson wasn’t necessarily “accepting failure”, but understanding that continuing on in light of obvious objection by the world around would have been the failure. Realizing that the road being traveled isn’t always the one meant for traveling can be hard to see. Changing directions, especially in the midst of a commitment, can be even harder. It’s sifting through these various levels of messages that marks the biggest challenge of all.

As of where I am now, I’ve found myself nestled in the heart of our great nations capital of Washington DC with my Sweet Serendipity. With an endless flood of encouraging support through this entire transition, together we’re moving on into even more wildness which life continues to offer.

I truly appreciate all the love, support and encouragement that you all have given me through the first 300 miles of the Trek. In time this journey will undoubtedly resume, but for now I will be in touch with my hit or miss weekly article on all the thoughts that continue to brew in my head .