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Monday, October 14, 2013

Cycling to the Grocery Store

Though I've only been 'cycling to Syria' for two and a half months, I've been on the road, in the broader sense, for almost two years. In that time I haven't returned home once, as there has been no home to return to. Thanks to the generosity and compassion of hundreds of people, I've been sheltered and fed most of the way, and I've found a temporary home or two, but no matter where I've been, or for how long, the road has always beckoned me; where next?
For most of my walk from Portugal to the Middle East, I was certain of my intentions, and confident, and joyful, but somewhere along the way I lost that certainty. I tried to revive that confidence with this fundraiser to Syria, but I found myself moving just to keep doing what I've grown accustomed to. Perhaps that lack of confidence is the reason I've failed to raise any money for victims of the war in Syria.
But it seems I've found a home now, in Aldenhoven, near Aachen, Germany. Syria is still on my mind, and I won't quit trying to raise money for the people who have suffered unimaginable loss there, either at the hands of a vicious regime or at the hands of equally vicious fundamentalist rebels. But I won't be cycling there anytime soon.
As I write this I'm in a t-shirt, nice and warm, and looking out the window at the cold street. I've spent too much time looking into windows and imagining the warmth inside after walking or cycling through the rain or snow for days. But maybe I can do more for the people who are on the outside, looking in, by being inside.
I won't stop this blog or its intention, but any cycling I'll be doing anytime soon will be to the grocery store.



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