My friend Sherry Otts is currently doing the Mongol Rally. When I found out Sherry was planning on doing the rally, my first words to her were, “What? Who are you going with? I want to do the Mongol Rally with you!”
What is the Mongol Rally?
It is a car rally that starts in the UK and ends in Mongolia. Entrants drive 10,000 miles and cover 1/3 of the Earth’s surface. The money that is raised via the rally goes to charity so there is a component of good will (in case sheer adventure and braving the unknown is not enough).
The Mongol Rally is an adventure and not a guided tour. Which way you drive to get from UK to Mongolia is up to you.
The official site for the rally describes the adventure as, “unprepared, ill-advised and with no idea of what might happen. What you generally find is a whole giant shit heap of adventure….Getting stuck, lost and in trouble, then finding your way out armed with just your wits and the sock and apricots.”
This sounds like a whole lot of fun to me!
What do you say, lets go drive 10,000 miles from one end of the world to another and see how much adventure we can rustle up in-between? Lets go!
This is not so much about if you are as excited about the Mongol Rally as I am. This is about that initial reaction you had to my proposal.
What was your first reaction? Did your heart whisper “YES” but your logical self uttered a dismissive, “Yeah Right?!” Did you drown out the excitement with an immediate “I wish, if only…”
It is important TO LISTEN to that whisper in your heart. “YES! That sounds like a great adventure to me!” It doesn’t matter what the proposed adventure is; a trip to Hawaii, swim with the great white sharks or move to Provence for an entire year. Listen to that YES and believe in the possibility of it. If you listen and believe, the quiet whisper will soon turn itself into a declarative statement and the ways and means – will show themselves to you.
Life is an adventure. You get to decide how dangerous, sublime and incredibly delightful an adventure it is. Just don’t drown out the whisper in your heart with reason not to.
Subscribe to SpyTravelogue and join me on my adventure.
*Yes. I am entirely serious about wanting to do the Mongol Rally. If you are interested, please drop me a line at charliegrosso at gmail dot com or pass this post along to anyone who would be interested in sharing a most excellent adventure.
hi Charlie-
alternative fuel vehicle anyone??
my first response was “I am already attempting the impossible right now, maybe I am the Mongol rally!”
metaphor for surviving.
best wishes* in all your adventures.
As long as we are all running our own rally, then I think all is well. You know what I mean….?! 🙂
Oh…I hope you do it next year!! Can’t wait to share all the juicy, dirty, fun, shitty details with you. It’s def. an adventure! Thanks for all of your support!
Sherry (written from somewhere in Western Siberia/Russia right now!)
I soooo want to do this.
I’ve got a spot in next year’s rally. Looking for those who are up for an adventure!
And this is why you’re such a wonderful writer. I would have just answered “Yes!” and not investigated further. Beautiful, true, inspiring, awakening. Thank you!
Thank you! Glad to hear that you liking the writing. What will you say YES to today?
Oh I would totally do this. I just need to get a month or so away from the office.
I’ve got a spot in the Mongol Rally for next year. Looking for fellow spy / adventurists!
This resonated with me: What was your first reaction? Did your heart whisper “YES” but your logical self uttered a dismissive, “Yeah Right?!” Did you drown out the excitement with an immediate “I wish, if only…”
😉
Ask and you shall receive. What do you really want? Don’t drown it … let it have its say for a minute. What is the worst thing that could happen?