life

Walking Across America

August 20, 2010 · By Sloane Davidson, Founder and CEO, Hello Neighbor

{{ video:youtube src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzRKEv6cHuk" }} This video above is the final version. Compare that to this one...

{{ video:youtube src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cp8t27oT_ww" }} *The one above is the behind the scenes version. Which do you like better? *

I saw this video originally on my friend Drew's blog and I was immediately reminded of one dear friend who had a dream to walk across America. And I believe one day he will (to quench his desire for a journey, he biked across America instead).

But when I saw the video on Drew's blog all clean and shiny - yeah - I mean it's awesome. Let's face it. The final version always looks pretty good. It's the nitty gritty daily grind of life that is hard. And so when I clicked on the Walk Across America YouTube page and then saw the map of where they traveled, I got lost for a few minutes in thoughts of my own journey.

Sometimes it's clear to me, it's a Temper Trap song perfecly in sync with my every step.

But often it's not. It's messy. It's undefined. It's life smack in front of you every day. It's an internal back and forth to be who I want to be and match who people think I should be or who I think I have to be for people. It's giving and getting. It's searching and being utterly lost and becoming found again.

I'm in a battle. And the next steps are shiny, but I can't quite see them yet through the fog and the early morning haze that layers the horizon and clouds my thoughts. I don't need a big bright rainbow, but a moment of clarity would be nice. That's what I'm working towards in my "behind the scenes" version of my own life. Working towards that sparkling nice final copy. I don't always know where it's all going but I'll tell you this, it's a damn good book to be writing. Thank you for coming along on the journey.

To close, a little something special to leave you with on this Friday morning...

{{ video:youtube src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLTPKKt-pMs" }}