Dear Explore the Edges Patron,
If you’re reading this it means…
1) Susie and Chris SURVIVED!
2) We want to congratulate YOU for a successful space-launch into the LAND OF DREAMS. (Even though we may have been the astronauts on the shuttle, surely you all were Mission Command Center, making the impossible possible.)
3) THANK YOU!!!! We have so much gratitude, bear hugs, and slobbery kisses in our hearts to share with you, even if they have to be virtual hugs and kisses … for now.
It’s been three weeks of clumsy re-entry into normal nine-to-five atmosphere. Our waffle-brown skin from four Equator-crossings is now as pasty-white as ever. This week, taxes are due. Gross! We can’t say we aren’t suffering a mild form of post-expedition depression.
But as tough as transitions can be, life is VERY GOOD and we just wanted to take a few moments to share a few tidbits about what profoundly impacted us from our trip, and what’s next for Susie and Chris and the Explore the Edges expedition.
Whatever point on our journey you joined us, you showed up for us in a very generous and meaningful way. That’s a big deal to us! We are indebted to you, of course, but also all the nameless trail angels who “paid it forward”. We wish you had the pleasure of witnessing and receiving the fruits of each other’s greatness from our perspective. We wish you all could taste the psychic adrenaline rush that it is knowing each of you in the unique way that we know you.
Some of you let us sleep on your couches and beds, others cooked us meals, fixed our roof, chopped down our trees, painted our house, threw parties, drafted contracts, taught classes, donated furniture, and ran studio s. Some phoned and emailed potential sponsors, so many were cash donors, many lent us their traveling gear, others foster-parented our fur-babies, some helped connect us to gracious hosts, gave us logistical tips, pep-talked us, generally covered our asses, and all of you were patient with us when we bitched and moaned during the stressful planning phase. We just received SO VERY MUCH! It’s an experience that few on Earth ever get to have – maybe only George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life.
When we came home to purple and pink blossoms of springtime in Cincinnati, it was the first place in two months that smelt really really really good! Maybe like a Pacific salmon recognizing the humble river she was spawned in years earlier. There is something so comforting and beautiful about Home, however humble. Our arrival to spring signaled a timely reset point – NEW LIFE – devoted to an ultra-monumental task – a season of giving – ourselves “paying it forward” to that same contagious Spirit by which you, our patrons and friends, gave to us.
Although we completed our goal of running six ultra-marathons, we don’t feel like there was ever a definitive finish line. No real closure. And that’s the way we like it. The memories, experiences, lessons, and responsibilities linger, like an Irish mist – you inside of us and we inside of you. We are quantumly entangled in this mission now, even though we’re still working out the kinks and specifics. You CAN’T get rid of us. Nor the afterglow of Explore the Edges.
Before we left for our adventure, we explained that we had no pre-selected charity partners, and instead, we promised to let the expedition unfold in its own mysterious way, and that we would respond according to the stirring in our hearts, authentically.
So, here are SOME of the seedlings to keep an eye on:
– Starting May 25, we are hosting a local event called “Ault Sweat” – a free outdoor group workout, au natural, at Ault Park that will last 15 Thursdays, at 6AM. It’s one way of gifting to the community who gives us so much, and celebrating a beautiful planet and our bodies with our sweaty togetherness.
– We are furiously writing, reading, and editing our travel journals. Even though we weren’t able to blog as much as we had hoped, we feel like we did the right thing – fully-immersing ourselves in our environments and with our hosts. We hope to use the power of this craft to offer the world a tangible fruit, a.k.a. – -a book!
-The one complaint we had about enjoying an expedition like ours is that the whole time, we just wanted to have all our friends and family there with us. We are brainstorming on a way to include more people in the next act of adventure.
– We are deeply moved, by the “ramshackled ones” – especially by the people of Chile, Argentina, and South Africa, who, through thick and thin:
o dance and laugh
o are poor, yet happy
o care most about the niňos
o care most about clean water
o build, but don’t settle
o are scavengers, yet cute
o are working to end injustice and build reconciliation
o just want opportunities to earn and learn
-We feel an intense calling to protect the raw beauty and flourishing life this planet has to offer. We are going deeper with our personal practices of conservation and exploring ways in which we can spread the love on an exponential level.
And these are just the beginning!
Love and admiration,
Chris & Susie
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