All Things Go

In my left hand, I hold a pile of tickets which to many would be comparable to a small book. And on my desk my sunglasses (newly purchased for the trip) stare at me with an ominous look, as if they are watching me struggle through coming up with a suitable first sentence; first paragraph and first post. In all honesty, I am slightly anxious and apprehensive about what it means to write a travel blog. I have never been a very consistent writer. In the past, I have always waited for that spark of inspiration and the moment of completion where the words and ideas mix as softly as quicksilver moves back and forth between solid and liquid and all I had to do was wait for them to pour and suddenly the blank pages were filled, but due to the massive amount of note-worthy things to write about and the responsibility of keeping a meticulous journal I won’t have the luxury of just ‘waiting’. And yet, there is nothing more painful than the thought that this blog will be nothing more than monotonous recounting of a day's events (even though the lowest day with the lowest ebb will probably be more exciting and galvanizing than many weeks at home--yes, even with a good book). I want this to be more than that. I want aestheticism and sublimity and epiphanies to roll across these upcoming pages like the way dawn peaks its head and then stretches across lush valleys, engulfing them in the new born light. Not because I am necessarily an exceptional writing, but because I am going to be experiencing life on such a grand scale that it would be almost underhanded if I wasn’t able to relate at least a portion of that to you in its flaming colors and being or the proverbial “is-ness”.

For those of you who have gotten this far and are wondering what trip I am talking about, it should be clear that I am not just talking about an escapade across the lonely landscapes of my rugged mind, but I am in fact going to real places in many foreign countries (I will write up my itinerary near the bottom of the page). I am going around the world. And I will be gone for 22 days. Twenty-two days. A few people have told me that 22 days was far too short to really experience the places I am going to, and I have to whole-heartedly admit. Each place I am going to deserves a thousand days of studying and perhaps one day I will be fortunate enough to spend a more extended amount of time at these cities and in these countries, but 22 days is nothing to be scoffed at. This trip is a glance. An amazing, brilliant glance at some of the earth’s most prized cities and countries and I won’t be able to process all that I see or feel and I won’t be able to really “experience” the cultures, but it is just like it would be if I tried stare at the sun (even with my trusted sunglasses) I would still start to feel weak in the knees and be overwhelmed by the fact that 90 million miles away there is a burning inferno that keeps me warm and the plants alive and even after just a glance I understand that it is magnificent (although in the glance or probably even after years of staring and studying the sun, it would be impossible for me to fully grasp its depth and majesty) .

For those of you who were wondering what trip I am talking about before, you probably still at just as confused. But that is more likely because I haven’t even properly introduced myself (a grave and most impolite blunder which you must forgive me for) or the amazingly gracious sponsor and architect of this adventure who I will circumnavigate the entire globe with. This leads me to the next segment of my post:

Questions that need to be answered:

Who is this mysterious narrator and lucky vagabond?

Who am I? That is a very hard and philosophical question which has lead to a number worldviews and philosophies and it could very plausibly be asserted that I do not in fact exist. But for all practical purposes, I will begin with my name: David Parker. I am a 17 year old philosopher and artist whose goal is to never look away from Truth or Beauty (think Plato’s cave here). I have been abroad before and in many ways consider my international experiences a cornerstone to my way of thinking and view of life. I consider myself to be pretty much the luckiest—excuse me, the most blessed by God person I know. I can only thank God for what he has done and try and make the best of every situation I am in.

Who is Jeffery Lavender?

When I used to try and describe Jeff to people I would say: “He is like those Amway guys from back in the 80’s, with a toothy smile and a pin that says ‘ask me how I made a million dollars this year?’ only less slimy and a pseudo-European, but still very much southern Californian.” While this some-what humorous character sketch is an introduction to Jeff, it is by no means adequate and it has only been in the last 7 or 8 months that I have begun to appreciate his full qualities. Jeff has been a very close friend of my family since we lived in France from 1997-2000. He has a tremendous knack for planning extravagant parties and for bringing a light-hearted feeling of fun where ever he goes. He is an exceptionally successful business man in the travel industry. And yet he is still young in spirit and very young in body. He is a tremendous connoisseur and can easily traverse from any social setting with ease, whether it be hanging out with some teenagers (who he always makes a point to encourage and enliven with his wise words) or be it in a 5 star hotel meeting with a group of execs. And above all, he seeks after God with his whole heart.

What will the tone of this blog be?

While I have already touched on the issue of what the focus of this blog is supposed to be, I would like to expand on that topic and clear up a few issues. The most important thing that I must say to begin with is that in all my writing I am going to strive for honesty and absolute sincerity. This means that I will not put any unnecessary filters on what I think or feel or experience just to try and appease my readers. This is a sincere recounting of my journey and that means that I am going to be honest and open about my personal thoughts and feelings and in a sense, be vulnerable. This means that there is a potential for my readers to be shocked at what I am saying, either because they think it goes against their assessment of my character or because they are surprised that I am willing to give utterance to the thoughts that they have thought, but weren’t willing to express. With that said, I don’t expect to write anything too graphic. For me though, it makes it easier to be clear that this is a trip of a lifetime and I would be a fool to hold anything back, even if it is scathing criticism or overly glowing praise. As far as mechanics go, I am not trying to stick to a strict style or format, but want to be free to write however the situation deems fit.

What will the focus of this blog be?

While I plan on giving a thorough recounting of the places I go, I am hoping that I will be able to go much deeper than that. I am not sure what I am going to feel and see, but I imagine that there will be some things or places or people which have much more an impact than others and it are on these things or places or people that I hope to really focus in on. Especially the people I meet. Also, I will be incorporating different thoughts on the worldviews, philosophies, religions, sociology and art which I will make broad and mostly unscientifically founded generalizations about.

Finally: Where does the name “All Things Go” come from? And what does it mean?

When coming up with a name for this Blog I decided that it couldn’t just be any name, and nearly at once I decided that I wanted it to be from a song or poem that I could pluck a line from. I did not want it to be a complete thought, but rather just an allusion to a grander theme which the poem or song expressed. I began as once by looking through some of my favorite authors and poets searching for the “perfect” one. For nearly 3 days I was digging around my head and around the internet and going through my favorite “traveling” songs for the right name. And then yesterday, while listening to music with my brother one of the best traveling songs I know of came on. It is called Chicago by Sufjan Stevens (an indie favorite and a Christian). For those of you who haven’t heard the song and who can’t imagine the lyrics bursting off the page and the trumpets intermingling with the guitars and vocals as a perfect mixture, the name might not mean that much. But the theme is perfect. It is about traveling to begin with (a fitting theme for a travel blog methinks), and the chorus talks about how when we look at the big picture we see that all things are going to growth and life and learning new things. And that is what I want to do on this trip, I want all things to go towards growth and a recreation of myself by having new experiences and above all to be a celebration of life. Because:

all things go, all things go
to recreate us
all things grow, all things grow
we had our mindset
all things know, all things know
you had to find it
all things go, all things go…

Itinerary:

August 8: Leave for London.

August 9: Arrive in London.

August 11: Arrive in Cairo Egypt

August 14: Leave Cairo

August 15 (early in the morning: Arrive in Delhi India.

August 17: Arrive in Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) Vietnam.

August 20: Arrive in Beijing China.

August 25: Arrive in Kyoto Japan

August 28: Arrive in Hong Kong.

August 29: Leave for Atlanta with a connection through Chicago.

“The madman seek out the storm,
As if in the tempest he could find peace”

~Lermontov