WanderLearn Forum with Francis Tapon

Greetings Francis...I have been following the course of your journey along the Divide and I have enjoyed your installments, particularly your posts from Colorado. They remind me of situations I have found myself in on altogether too many occasions...at the time they seem like the worst experiences one could possibly have but in reflection they often seem like the best. Life lived at that pitch makes one feel so alive it hardly seems to matter if the experience itself is good or bad...or is it that reality has finally removed, even if only for a moment, the chimerical mask of good and bad...

As far as the number of principles are concerned, I don't think there is an eighth principle, or even seven principles, for that matter. In fact I don't think there are any principles, although the temptation to systematize life may have us believing otherwise. What does Borges say about systems...they are an attempt to subordinate all aspects of the universe to a single aspect. We have our monistic systems, and our dualistic systems, and our Trimurtis and Holy Trinities...but why stop at three? or seven? or eight? or eighty? My feeling is that moment-to-moment we wrestle with a very stubborn illusion of duality but in our transcendent moments, perhaps not unlike the ones you have had, we penetrate through the veil of separation to discover that all boundaries are illusory, and that all is unity. And that itself may be an immature form of perception, and at the core there may be nothing whatsoever, not even a core, not even unity...

But by principles perhaps you are only referring to a kind of code of conduct for living well during our short time here. I still don't think there are seven such principles...I am a reductionist by nature, probably out of laziness, and I see only the One Principle: Unconditional Acceptance. Anything else is but a dream.

I am on the trail myself, at Ghost Ranch at the moment, but being a proletarian thru-hiker I have no ambitions beyond finishing the trail before the snows hit Glacier at the end of the season. If our paths cross, and I hope they will, it will probably be somewhere in Montana. But if they don't I will take this moment to wish you well on your epic voyage and all epic voyages to follow. I appreciate your organization and efficiency and ethic, even if I don't necessarily share those virtues myself, and I look forward to reading more installments from the trail. What more can I say? Life is but a dream. Journey on...

the Humungus

Humungus wrote: As far as the number of principles are concerned, I don't think there is an eighth principle, or even seven principles, for that matter.... But by principles perhaps you are only referring to a kind of code of conduct for living well during our short time here. I still don't think there are seven such principles...I am a reductionist by nature, probably out of laziness, and I see only the One Principle: Unconditional Acceptance. Anything else is but a dream.
the Humungus

In the book's Introduction, which you can download for free off my webpage, I write:

Lastly, I’m not the Moses of thru-hikers. I’m not saying that God gave me these Principles or even that all thru-hikers agree with them. I simply arrived at them after many months of deep contemplation.
For instance, someone else might follow my footsteps
and be inspired to write a book called The 7 Principles of Proper Trail Hygiene. And alas, that book would probably easily outsell mine.

In your case, you'd have one principle and whole book on that. Without writing a book, can you briefly summarize what you mean by Unconditional Acceptance?

I also look forward to seeing you on the CDT! I'll be looking for you! We'll have a deep philosophical discussion and behave like wise old hikers.

I'll leave you with one more quote from my book for the last chapter:

Lastly, I expect some people to disagree with one or more of these Principles. Others will resist the whole book because they feel it’s too “prescriptive” or “packaged.” Nearly everyone will find something to quibble about somewhere in these pages. That’s why I stress to hike your own hike, including when it comes to using this book!
Hiking your own hike doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t listen to
other people’s advice. On the AT countless hikers advised me on
what shoes I should wear, how often I should take a break, why it’s no fun hiking more than 25 miles a day, and where I should go to take a shower ASAP. I listened with an open mind, considered their advice deeply, incorporated some of their ideas, and then hiked my own hike. I encourage you to do the same. Therefore, if you’d rather just grab the ideas you like and toss the rest of this book into the campfire, then that’s your way of hiking your own hike and I respect that. However, instead of burning this book, consider doing something more constructive with it: use it as a handy doorstop.

"From the moment I picked your book up until I laid
it down, I convulsed with laughter. Someday I intend
reading it." — Groucho Marx