It has been just about 1 year since I started the Kindness Bus Tour and a few thoughts come to mind.

I’ve spent the last 12 months traveling to places I have never been to and seeing people who I have never met and who never expected to see me.  On a daily basis, I encounter a few challenges and usually the first one is arriving on a campus and finding a parking place that has the visibility to enable me to talk to as many students as possible.  Lately, much of my day also includes interviews and speeches. I like that a lot. I also find a creative spot for a picture of Bogart that I can include in my daily blog.

By day’s end it’s time to find a bite to eat, an overnight place to park the bus, and get some sleep.  My continued thanks to Wal-Mart for allowing campers to park in their lots overnight, since that is where I often settle down.  If I cannot find a Wal-Mart, a truck stop has fit the bill.

Evenings are spent with some housekeeping chores and writing my blog on my Blackberry.  If I’m lucky, I can find a laundromat nearby and an Anytime Fitness center where I can get some exercise and a shower.

By the time I’m ready to turn off the flashlight, it has typically been a 12 to 16 hour day.  Just another day of the most rewarding work I have ever done.

I’ve become adjusted to living without some of the things I took for granted most of my life such as hot and cold running water, a television, a kitchen, a full bathroom, and others.

Life on the bus has been without amenities, yet very comfortable once I got used to it.  My 5 miles per gallon, 60 miles an hour “carriage” has been (so far) easier to maintain than I anticipated.  I soon came to the realization that the only items I will ever need are on the bus and I now understand that “Having few possessions is actually a luxury.”

All in all, it has been a year of hard work and incredible rewards. People have embraced the Kindness project beyond my expectations and I can see that this effort is still only in its infancy.  I can’t wait to begin year 2 and add a children’s series of books, a newsletter and many more things to continue the spread of Kindness.

I have loved every minute, I have found Nirvana.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 7th, 2010 at 3:59 pm and is filed under Kindness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.