I guess it's a good thing that I've been pretty steadily busy in 2023, not having too much time to reflect and write about it. To be frank, it's a daunting task to reflect on all that has transpired in a year, given all the various 'projects' that I am committed to. As it relates to this project, I intentionally didn't interview as many people as in the years past, as the backlog of raw material was becoming unmanageable. Even though I have 'processed' many of the interviews, the real work of digesting the content and building a narrative around it hadn't really begun.

Although I experimented with this idea during a trip to upstate NY last year, I anticipate more interesting results this time around while exploring national parks. Weaving dharma into these epic hiking adventures feels appropriate  , and incorporating dharma into daily activities has gradually become a regular part of my mind training beyond meditation. 

About this time last year, I was the road for about a month and half and little did I know how different it would be from the pandemic days. I suspected that it would be my 'last' significant roadtrip given that my day job was finally returning with the pandemic subsiding. I felt pretty good on how much progress I made on the road trip in terms of interviews but I was pleasantly surprised how the rest of 2022 finished up.