Six months go by quick, don’t they? That’s how long it’s been since my last update.

Prompted by a friend asking what was up, I thought I might write a brief entry letting subscribers and visitors know that I’m still working on this site, even though I haven’t posted in awhile.

There are three main reasons for the relative lack of new content:

First, my travels through South Korea, India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal between October ’18 and May ’19 were incredibly intense – especially India, where I spent the bulk of that time (6 months). With all I wanted to see, experience, and do in all these places, I had fewer opportunities than I expected to write, edit photos, and maintain my blog.

Also, India was exhausting. My years on the road have helped me acquire a bit of travel savvy, and I needed all of it to navigate India’s chaotic and polluted environments, which often sapped my creative energy.

Just an average afternoon in the heart of Old Delhi, India.

I appreciated this strikingly foreign aspect of the country, and even enjoyed it at times. But as an Indian friend observed, “Will, you still have a Western nervous system.” I can’t think of a better way to put it than that.

The second reason for my lack of updates is that for the past two months, I’ve been working on a longer piece about my experiences with the plant medicine ayahuasca and the meditation technique of Vipassana. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) that isn’t a topic that I can approach in brief. The piece currently stands at more than 11,000 words, with several sections left to write. By the time it’s done, it’ll be the longest thing I’ve ever written by far, assuming it isn’t already.

I’ve considered breaking the piece up into separate posts, but I feel it’s stronger as a complete block. My writing application (iA Writer) even tells me that right now, the post will take the average person 56 minutes to read. But I’d still rather leave the pace of reading up to you, so you can absorb my arguments the way I intend.

Also, even if no one reads it – which is a likely outcome for an article that’ll be 15,000-plus words – at this point it’s more about my writing than anyone’s reading. In a way, I consider it an act of service.

So as I develop and refine the piece, aspiring to express my deepest and highest understandings with integrity and craft, I humbly ask for your patience.

Whangaparoa Peninsula by air
The Whangaparoa Peninsula and Shakespear Regional Park, north of Auckland, New Zealand.

The third and final reason for the lack of updates is that I’ve been going through some big life changes since my time in India concluded. It seems that one road ended, and another began.

If the past four years have been about expansion, expansion, expansion, I’m now in a phase of integration, and cultivation. It’s humbling, scary, and beautiful, and I will write about it. But not yet.

Because I’m still finding my feet, learning to walk in a new way, and assembling the pieces of my life’s story to see if I can figure out what this thing might be about – at least for right now, at least for me.

It’s a daunting challenge, but considering all I’ve done, seen, and experienced for the past three-plus years (and the 39 or so before them), I think I’m up to it.

So as I navigate this rich and complex moment I know good things are ahead for me, and for this blog. The blog won’t update itself, though, so I wanted to let everyone know what’s going on.

In the meantime… please stand by.

🙂

Man on beach in Goa
A man enjoys a quiet moment at sunset on Arambol Beach in Goa India.

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The Lost Pilgrim

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