I just returned back to Thakhek from a 4 day 3 night motorbike loop around rural Lao. It was nice to be on a bike for a couple of days, driving wherever you want. The highlights included two waterfalls where I had to scramble over some rocks, a nice viewpoint to see 65 million year old limestone formations, and waving to the local children along the way. It always brightens my day when I see the children waving and smiling, even though they live very impoverished lives. A repetitive theme of my trip seems to be enjoying living simple. Throughout the many rural, poor areas of Africa and SE Asia I have been to the people are so warm and friendly even though they lack basic material goods. As I travel the world with solely a backpack on my back it reminds me to stay simple and not overcomplicate things. On a similar note I talked to a friend the other day on FaceTime about my trip. He asked me to drop some insights and learnings from my trip. I did not have any big insights or profound ideas to share. That in itself is profound! The past 5 years I have been studying and learning to understand the depths of Truth and creation. I thought every word that needed to be spoken must be ground-shaking. But as I said, living simply and appreciating your basic life is the most profound idea of all. Now with all this being said, it is important not to live too simply. I am very grateful I was gifted with a strong body and intellectual mind. It is imperative that I use both to the best of my abilities to impact and give back to the world. The strong body part is pretty straight forward to me that I think I figured it out. It is important to stay in shape to maximize your longevity and to be energized on a daily basis. The intellectuality piece is a lot more tricky. With this growing chaotic world it is becoming ever more difficult to discern what is the best area to commit my intellectual capacities to. I am naturally gifted at math and science, and I do actually like these fields as well. When I look to the future on how to make money there has not been a clearer field than technology and AI. The mistake I made in my previous job was working for a big American corporation where your work is not valued or matters. Maybe I could see myself working at a startup for a cause I really care about. I really think that working for a big American corporation in your early 20s emasculates young men. I plan to write an essay on this to provide a real argument. Ever since quitting my job and taking my life and decisions into my own hands I feel a fire and a sense of manhood I have not felt before. When you walk into a huge corporation with your shirt tucked in and playing actor to get a raise and doing work you really don't care about it completely strips away all important masculine qualities for a young 20 year old to curate. Finally it is crazy to think I am only 4.5 months in on a possibly 12 month journey around the world. I am trying to be patient not to rush to where I am going but to enjoy the present. It is really about the journey, not the destination.
