The Day Before Motion

There is always a rumble in my stomach a few days before I do something crazy. I can feel that rumble now - a day away from absolute nomadic adventure. I love this feeling.
It is the feeling of ambition, of uncertainty, of anticipation, of hunger, of thirst, of delight, of necessity - it is the feeling of being consumed by motion. There is an addiction. I think it is an addiction because I am constantly thinking about it, lusting after it... it compels me.
I can already taste the sweat of travel. I can already hear the sounds of waterfalls and the sounds of trees and the sounds of sleeping under the stars - every movement has a sound.
Right before I leave, it feels like the top of a very high slide, and as I near the edge I feel nothing but the flow, and then the world falls out from under me and all I can do is try and breathe. why? I have doubted myself as to why I need to go. What reason? How unsafe. The lack of comfort, the cost. Then I see myself in a mirror, I hear the tick of a clock, and I remember how quick this all ends. My bags are packed.

We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand - and melting like a snowflake. Marie B. Ray


(Andrew Tipton)