For no other reason than to know that you were wrong...

…and the road carries on over bridges, through tunnels, and to the very place where roads end with boat docks and landing strips. My idle speed has drifted me across a couple states, countries, and oceans leaving me currently residing in the Northern city of Chiang Mai, Thailand.

 I want to start off by thanking everyone that helped lend their efforts in making this possible. As I had mentioned before, not one person is solely responsible for crafting, planning, and executing a brilliant (and in some cases not so brilliant) idea.  Even if you were one of the unlucky and unfortunate individuals that had to endure the endless hours of my hypothetical future situations and endeavors, I hope that you know you had a hand in making this happen. And to my family, the very people who helped create and polish the traits that have carried me so far already, I am grateful for all that you continue to share.

Thailand. What a ride it has been so far. With the initial flights here leaving us tossed, squashed, seized, and uncomfortable our transition was nothing short of what felt like an interplanetary excursion. After 20+ hours of flying our jet leg left us wide eyed and stumbling to articulate sentences. Thankfully Stephanie had already found us a place to crash our “farang” confusion prior to our departure.

This past month has taught me a lot about what we can learn from stress. In my references to “stress” I am not specifically referring to the uncomfortable situation that presents itself preceding a college exam but in more of the biological sense. A stressor, or stimuli that challenges equilibrium. My equilibrium has been challenged on many fronts, requiring me both physically and psychologically to alter my processes to maintain “homeostasis” or the optimum state of existence. Any time you are placed into a new scenario, your processes are put to the test. Some fracture under the strain while others withstand the surmounting pressure.  We can then address the value or validity of the reasons behind our processes, which ultimately define our actions.

 A dynamic environment provides a consistent and constant stream of stimulus for a cell or an organism. These dynamic environments provide these organisms or cells a “stress” with which they are able to further test and refine their processes. This results in the survival of the fittest, natural selection. Nature provides the test, life takes the test, the winners…well they get to continue living. This repeated “testing” or application of stress allows life to shake unnecessary, deleterious, and inadequate processes while simultaneously increasing the prevalence of the more advantageous processes. Therefore could one then consider that the more stress we encounter in our personal experiences the more we are able to shape and refine our very own processes? A dynamic environment provides us this opportunity to change, grow, and evolve.

I came here with a plan and with a level of certainty simply supported by what I had heard and read. I wanted to challenge myself personally, romantically, and professionally. I needed a dynamic environment to refine my processes and Thailand fit the bill. The goal, to find a teaching job that would allow me to continue my quest to “stress” my ability as an educator while being able to provide me with enough time to focus on the growth of my relationship and my personal goals with climbing. I am testing the strategies and processes I have relied on in the past. Some prevail and others do not, failure is always the best way to learn. I was able to find the job I was looking for by simply hitting the pavement, further reiterating a concept I had read in a book prior to leaving.  Sometimes it is not about how good your idea sounds but rather how good you are with making your ideas happen?

The chaos and shell shock of the arrival has faded but the stimulus is still here, and seemingly endless. For now this is my dynamic environment that I will use to refine my processes and challenge myself to write the story of my life that I dream of reading.