The Loneliness of Being a Writer/Explorer

 I finished Philosophy for Polar Explorers by Erling Kagge. So much of what he wrote is about the everday everybody—not just those ascending Everest or seeking the Pole.

Of course as a long-distance cyclist I can find myself in many of his messages. Yes, I’m not fast, I’m not breaking world records, nor am I the first. I’m just a solo trekker of a certain age—who people tell me is brave. I don’t always feel that way.

For instance: as a writer it is much tougher than you think to come back to a project where you have failed and try to revive it, or to tell yourself you might have to let this one go. To face the blank page. A bigger Pole is to create with words something out of nothing, to translate that feeling or concept you harbor in your head into words, words that have an impact upon a reader. There are times I find this impossible—and yet I keep trying.

Writing is like being a polar explorer. It is about facing your fears, the absurdity of the task, and being present anyway.