WILD WANDERING

I often get caught up in my head too much—overthinking and all that—and ignore what my heart and soul are trying to say. I do this out of habit, not because it does me any good. This book is about the choice I made in April 2024 to actually try listening to that deeper voice within. I had found value in this sort of thing many times before this, but this time, this call from deep inside of me seemed to be suggesting that I surrender more fully to those gentle nudges from within and let them carry me long enough to see what would happen.

I decided that a long road trip would be a good way to answer this call to wander, and so I loaded up my vehicle with camping gear, food, and water, and I set out from my home in Alaska to make my way south to be with the desert in Arizona. I then went on to wander the coast of California, but I’ll cover that portion of the journey in a later book. Spending time in the desert—connecting with nature in that place—felt important, but this trip wasn’t about physical destinations. This trip was about giving myself permission to follow a more free and wild path—one driven more by feeling than thought.

On the surface, this was a simple road trip, but it had a surprisingly significant effect on me. The experience rooted itself deep into my heart, reminded me who I am, and reunited me with parts of myself I didn’t know had been lost. This experience is personal to me, but I share it because I believe it is of value to the path that many of us are on.