Road Trip

What a manly thing to do

I've been hunting for manly things to do ever since picking up Wild at Heart by John Eldredge. In the book, he mentions the 3 deepest desires in every man:

• to fight a battle
• to rescue a Beauty
• to live out an adventure

While I've needed to transform the first 2 into more practical metaphors - e.g. fighting a spiritual battle against immorality, injustice and laziness, and being chivalrous to all beauties until I find my own Beauty - the 3rd one is still attainable in its pure form. Like in a road trip.

Armed with only a tome of maps, driving for 2 hours straight and carrying 3 other lives in the vehicle definitely feels like a manly thing to do. The road on the Victorian South West is wide open, and even driving at the speed limit of 100 km/h won't get you to the end quickly enough. Wait, is there even an end?

Once, we decided to drive along a "45-minute road loop" around the mountains. The 2-way road was only wide enough for one car at a time. The road divided a few times. But signposts were rare. Worst, we didn't see any mountains. The thought that we were lost haunted me as the man behind the wheel. The question was: Where are you on the map, and how on earth do you go around the planned loop? It was getting dark, and as a local resident said, "You really don't want to leave your car around this time; there's too much wildlife." That, is adventure. And it feels manly.

Back at the lodge that night, it started to get cold. The fireplace near the corner inside the cottage seemed eager to be utilised. I summoned my masculinity, collected some firewood from outside, threw them into the fireplace and lit the flame. Soon the entire house was warmed up. The fact that the wood were neatly supplied in a box, all chopped and ready to go probably made the job so much easier. But it was still a very manly thing to do.

I must thank my housemate for this rare opportunity to explore the wild outdoors. And also the wild heart in me.

Picture credit: maristmessenger.co.nz