Around The World… All Alone
Greetings, Henry here. The Canadian press Jan 23 had a story about Tim Harvey a 27 year old man from Vancouver who has been traveling around the world, primarily through muscle power since 4004.He has biked across the frozen tundra in Siberia, canoed down the Yukon River, cycled across Europe and “rowed for 25 days straight in hellish, murderous weather.”
He has a message that we need to stop using so much fossil fuel so as to create a cleaner environment. That is a commendable goal. What impresses me is not so much his goal as the incredible stick-to-itiveness that he has shown in his two year journey.
He has to be an introvert. No one else could stand the isolation, not always having a travel companion to talk to, to bounce ideas off of, just to chat together and dispel some of the loneliness.
It seems to me that all these solo travelers are introverts. How else could you survive sailing around the world, rowing the Atlantic or hiking across the continent? Doing all of those things goes against the busy, social grain of our culture, where we have to have people with us always.
It would probably do us all good if we were to cultivate out introverted side more. We would slow down in our hectic culture, give more space for our spiritual journey, listen more to the rhythm of life, and enjoy it more.