a wild adventure

“Deep in man’s heart are some fundamental questions that simply cannot be answered at the kitchen table. Who am I? What am I made of? What am I destined for? It is fear that keeps a man at home where things are neat and orderly and under his control. But the answers to his deepest questions are not to be found on television or in the refrigerator...Don’t climb on that, don’t break anything, don’t be so aggressive, don’t be so noisy, don’t be so messy, don’t make such crazy risks. But God’s design – which he placed in boys as the picture of himself – is a resounding yes. Be fierce, be wild, be passionate.”

Those are the words of john eldredge writing in the book: "wild at heart". I remember reading this book a while ago and really hating the stereotypical characterisations of "a man". I didn't really buy what he was saying, then. But the more i think about it and the more i pass through life, i realise how true some of his words are.

With that in mind, I went on a wild adventure a few days before I started work last week. I envisioned sitting by some water (even if i dont swim in it!), chillaxing, reading a book or newspaper, pondering the meaning of life, and trying to psyche myself into being positive about work. well, i didn't exactly get that; instead i got this:

now you may be saying, but folu, that looks very relaxing, chilling on a boat in the water. well i was in the water, sailing for 3 days, but i definitely was not relaxing. that look that you can't really decipher on my face is the "i-am-so-shit-scared-i-could-poop-my-pants" look. oh, and what you also cannot see is that the boat was at that time angled at 70degrees to the water (of course 90degrees and we would be swallowing water). my mentor and friend, nick (whose boat this was) thought it would be a good idea for me to steer the boat. so i did most of the steering while nick relaxed under the hood! thats some faith! this is nick:

i wasn't always scared shitless tho. i did enjoy most of the time. my inability to swim notwithstanding, i steered like a pro and learned all sorts of sailing terms and commands like "trim your sails" and "release the jib" and set the sails to the steering" and "sailing too close to the wind", etc. we ended up sailing to different spots along the river and camping or sleeping on the boat wherever we stopped. i even jumped in the water to swim. we talked about nothing and everything and even got super adventurous once and decided to follow our ears to find a waterfall (no path or map involved). about an hour later we arrived here!

[i debated posting this pic, but i went ahead anyway, because im positive none of y'all will make any silly remarks about how i need to lose weight. badly. which i already know!]

at the end of the trip, tho, i can say that it was truly relaxing, while at the same time not so relaxing. i was tense a lot, especially when in rough waters, but i felt so relaxed sitting/lying there, reading, talking to nick about very real and deep topics, unloading and being unloaded upon, sipping coffee non-stop, watching stars and sunsets, enjoying fish as they flip-flopped in and out of the water, listening to the non-stop crying of crickets and the dog-like barking of baboons, being seduces by the sound of crashing waves and flowing waterfalls. i found new definitions of beauty.

anyway, i sincerely recommend a trip like this to anyone, especially guys. it actually made me so ready to conquer anything, especially work. it also left my skin peeling everywhere, cuz i was so sure black people like me don't sunburnt (i was wrong, again!). guys, we need to find the adventure in us and even though i dunno if/when i'll do something like this again, i was awakened to the love of the outdoors that i've had (but which i'd surpressed) since i was a child. I can't wait for my next adventure. in the meantime, few more pics.