jesseslife.com

From where I sit, I can see about half of my home. In front of me is a dark wood coffee table with a glass top. A few magazines and a potted plant are arranged on its surface. To my right is a table that seats four or five – one I stained and finished myself years ago. The kitchen, with its stock of food and frozen treats (and a bottle of very cold vodka) is just paces away. I can hear the washing machine downstairs in the garage, churning through a load of laundry. Any minute, the little Snuggle bear will be ensuring that my clothes are oh, so soft. It is cool in my home, now that the sun has gone down over the ocean only miles away. Cool and quiet. Comfortable.

Yet, something is out of place. If I turn my head just slightly to my left, past the carefully framed black and white photos, and just past the front door is a huge, bright red, white and blue plastic sign. “FOR SALE??? it reads, and there is a smaller, but no less bright, yellow sign that advertises a number you can call to get more information “24 hours.???

I’m selling. Just about everything. I am selling my home, my cars, my books, my furniture. All the trappings of the American dream are on the block today. I am giving up the comfort of San Diego, paradise on earth for some, to go out amongst the world. To see and smell and feel things which few have. To test myself, yes. To pit myself against, not the world, but myself. Right now, I have a rosy romantic vision of backpacking through the woods of New Zealand. Poking around the Roman ruins of northern Africa. Sleeping under the stars in every national park n the US. But the test comes when the mud in South Island seeps into my boots and I am covered with bites. The test comes when strangers challenge my passage, in a language I don’t understand. When the factors of bad luck, bad weather, bad health and little cash all make me yearn for a little cool and quiet. A little comfort.

But, and this is the question I hope to answer, when I am cleaning mud from between my toes, when I fear for my safety far from home, when I am SO bored, will I be smiling?

With this journal, I am going to try to share with you my personal experiences on this trip. I hope that you get the chance to smile along with me.

And so it begins….