FOR some it’s to climb Mount Everest. For others, it’s to visit the Galapagos Islands. Still others wish to bungee jump, skydive or trek the Appalachian Trail. The potential “bucket list” of must-do, must-experience and must-see items varies by individual and runs the gamut.
At the same time, some of the most challenging, inspiring and pride-filled adventures upon which one can embark are those in which you never leave your home or even the confines of your own mind.
I recently embarked on my latest extended, water-only, no food fast. Without getting into too much detail, the purpose of this ancient practice is to allow the body’s digestive system to rest, thereby allowing the body’s energies to focus on healing and rejuvenation. Until this one, the longest I’ve fasted was 21 days back in June of this year. While fasting “best practices” recommends not setting a specific number of days one expects to fast, and instead allowing the body to determine when a return to eating is advised, I had my sights set on 30 days. This would be a journey primarily of the mind, of my courage, discipline, will power and commitment.
Today, I reached that milestone and personal triumph of 30 full days (720 hours) without consuming solid food. Again, I emphasize: no solid food; at all; not in the morning, not at noon, not after sunset. This is a real fast. It bears little resemblance to the “intermittent fasting” practice you may read about. This time, I chose the lemonade fast (spring water, local lemons, cayenne pepper, maple syrup). I’ve known only one other person (here on Saipan, coincidentally) who has done a 30-day fast. I can now add myself to that short list and forever speak from a position of experience if/when asked about what happens to the body during such an undertaking. This accomplishment is now a permanent part of the story of me. Bucket List: checked!
For those who may wonder: being forcibly deprived of food, or doing it as a publicity stunt or as a means of protest without the requisite education, nor the physical and mental states one needs before such a protocol is — in my opinion — the reason people in seemingly similar situations (i.e., no food) will have different (often negative) outcomes. In other words, pointing to performers like magician David Blaine, or human rights protesters who appear to be near starvation as a result of depriving themselves of food for extended periods is not proof that the practice is ill-advised. Real fasting is Nature’s first cure. It is a simple, natural healing method of which just about anyone may partake.
I share this with you in the hope that my journey can inspire someone else to indulge their wanderlust and journey within as well as without! Palliative (end of life) caregivers will tell you, invariably, that when reflecting upon one’s life, people rarely regret the things they did (whether successfully or not), but the things they didn’t do. Start the business! Complete the book! Book the ticket! Do the thing! Once and for all!
And now, first inspired on the 22nd day of my fast, shared on this 30th day, and offered to others contemplating any ground breaking, trend setting, frontier-expanding, commitment-testing, once-in-a-lifetime, bucket list achieving adventure of their own to boldly go where no man has gone before, I offer you: “Uncharted Territory.”
No fanfare, no world premiere
no conference for the press
I’m on a private journey
to put my limits to the test
No guidebook, no roadmap
no GPS in hand
I’m headed for the wilderness
horizons to expand
No salary, no fixed reward
no guaranteed return
Sustained by what remains within
once bridges have been burned
No u-turns, no exit ramp
no stop and start again
The comfort of do-overs
are for children not for men
No harness, no safety net
fly high, or simply fail
This code of do or die
‘s not for the meek nor for the frail
No guide to trust, no posted signs
no secret path to glean
The few who’ve ever come this far
are few and far between
So what, then, drives me forward?
kindred spirits share this bond:
Beyond comfort, cash and power?
The need to know what lies beyond!
Saipan-based author, Walt F.J. Goodridge, when not conducting self-publishing workshops to help others, writes and publishes books about his own natural health journey under the pen name “The Ageless Adept.”(www.agelessadept.com)
For more of Walt’s life rhymes, visit www.liferhymes.com/.
Walt F.J. Goodridge
