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November 9, 1998

San Francisco to Hawaii, Second Attempt. Update #49

49. Date: Mon, 9 Nov 98 04:59:59 GMT
Latitude: 23 degrees 02.003 minutes North
Longitude: 147 degrees 18.709 minutes West
Wind E, Force 4
Heading 255 degrees(M)

We seem to live our days at the moment between the figures 270 and 210 degrees on the compass card. At 210 we are clawing valuable miles South, but it's a heavy toll on our knees, even though yesterday we changed propellers to the lighter 'Oceania' that Scott from Pitchometer of Alameda, CA hand made us for this very purpose. When we start to over heat in the saddle, we either dive in to cool off or turn down-wind on 270 for a while to give the knees a break and direct a blissful draught of fresh tropical wind air down the neck. If only it were a little farther south -rolling into Hilo on a 270 degree heading would be heaven! We pray for a north easterly.

One of the questions asked today from one of the classes particpating in the 'Classroom Expedition' was 'are you scared of dying?' The answer is obviously yes, for various reasons; the actual experience of dying wouldn't probably be that bad -as long as it didn't last that long. But the pain for our families would be tremendous, as well as losing the remainder of the 70 year lease on these fantastic vehicles we know as our bodies! But for me (Jason), what is equally or even more scary than death (and this goes some way in explaining why I choose to be out here bobbing around in a little wooden box) is getting sucked into leading a life without purpose and meaning; a Living Death; a mediocre state of existence characterized by absence of passion or conviction in all that I do. A condition I believe we are all born with the propensity towards if we do not search for and identify purpose and meaning early enough in life, and follow a 'right path' for ourselves accordingly.

Yesterday was Remembrance Day in the UK, the annual commemoration of the millions of men and women who have laid down their lives for their Countries in terms of war and piece. The First World War has always held a particular fascination for me as one of the last wars that involved old-style military tactics -of throwing as many men into an offensive as possible -being used against modern weaponry like the machine gun. "What was it like to be a 20yr old about to 'go over the top' of the trenches to a very high probability of death, and why would I be there in the first place?" Eight years ago I found myself trying to answer this question by doing some volunteer work for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in the Somme region of Norther France. After 10 days clearing grass away from the bases of the white crosses that stretched away as far as the eye could see in all directions, I came to the conclusion that as well as being fired up with Patriotic fervor, this young man jumped at the adventure of 'going to war' for the sense of meaning and purpose it gave their lives. For the fortunate few that survived the ordeal and were not too mentally scarred, this 'right of passage' probably served them well in seeing the rest of their life in perspective and avoiding falling into the trap of leading a mediocre Living Death existence from then on.

Being brought up in the modern comfort of peace-time Britain, I and the rest of my generation never had the opportunity to run off to some war like this and gain our 'Right of Passage.' "And a good thing too!" I can hear my mother saying. True, I can't imagine anything worse than being in a war, but it still leaves the problem of how to avoid the Living Death scenario. Teenagers come out of school, get a token University degree (if they're lucky) and spend the next 10 years chained to a job they don't particularly like, paying off the bank loan for the degree, by which time it's all over; they're in a rut and there's no honorable way out apart from initiating a premature mid-life crisis.

Steve and I decided to have our mid-life crisis very early -at the tender ages of 25 and 24 respectively! As there were no 'just' crusades to join we invented our own based on traveling around the world by pedal-boat, bikes, skates etc, and the rest is history. But after 4 years on the road we have to still be careful that 'being on the road' doesn't lose its meaning and purpose too. A couple of times last year while biking to Peru, I had to ask myself the question -Why? And if it wasn't for the expedition expanding to incorporate ideas like the Global Learning Exchange and an increasing emphasis on working with young people, I would probably have bailed out of Expedition 360 by now too. Mediocrity -it's like an invisible plague that creeps up on you from nowhere, and before you know it you are asleep under its spell. So it seems we are up against two forms of death; the living version and the dead version. At the end of the day it will be keeping our wits about us -staying aware and mindful of ourselves and our outside environment- that will protect us from either one, beyond which the mater is out of our hands. After all, everyone has got to move on sometime!

Lewis & Smith,
The Moksha crew

Posted on November 9, 1998 7:30 PM