4 AM. Can't sleep again.

You're watching that viral penguin video. The one where he turns his back on the ocean and walks toward the mountains. 70 kilometers inland. Toward certain death.

The other penguins just watch.

They don't follow.

They know something you're starting to understand.

He's Not Lost

Scientists filmed this. Called it "disorientation."

But watch his walk. Deliberate. Determined.

Turn him around, he heads inland again. Carry him back to the ocean, he immediately turns toward the mountains.

This isn't confusion.

This is clarity.

The kind that hits you at 4 AM when you realize you've been walking toward the wrong horizon your whole life.

Your People Are Watching

"You have responsibilities."

"Think about security."

"This is just a phase."

"Be reasonable."

Same words the colony penguins are thinking. Same words keeping you at the same beach. Same life. Same death.

Here's what they don't say: Your departure terrifies them.

Because if you can walk away, what's their excuse?

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The Question Herzog Missed

The filmmaker asked if they ever turn back.

Wrong question.

The right question: What happens to the ones who never leave?

I'll tell you. They huddle. Breed. Feed. Die.

Efficiently. Predictably. Forgettably.

Their children do the same. And their children's children.

Until another penguin turns inland.

And the whole colony holds its breath.

I Know That Walk

Spent 6 years walking someone else's mountain. 70-hour weeks. Garbage truck at 4 AM. UberEats till midnight. Pizza delivery between.

Christie kept setting my plate. Even when I wasn't there to eat it.

Empty chair. Full plate. Kids watching.

"He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me." - Matthew 10:37

Even provision can become an idol when it keeps you from your calling.

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Your Penguin Moment

Already happened, hasn't it?

Maybe last week. Maybe 10 years ago. That moment you knew.

The life you're living isn't the life you're called to.

The mountain's been calling. You've been walking circles around the same safe beach.

While that penguin keeps walking. One step. Then another.

No safety net. No backup plan. No colony approval.

Just the call and the courage to answer it.

What It Costs to Stay

That penguin will die facing his mountain.

You? You'll die facing the TV. Or the spreadsheet. Or the bottle.

Efficiently. Safely. Right where everyone expected.

Your kids will remember a man who provided everything except himself.

Your wife will remember a husband who was always almost there.

You'll remember all the times you almost turned inland.

Almost.

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The Colony's Lie

"He'll die out there."

True.

But here's what they don't say: He'll die in here too.

We all die.

The question is whether you die walking toward your calling or away from it.

Whether you die in motion or in storage.

Whether you die as yourself or as who they needed you to be.

Pick Your Death

That penguin chose his.

Still walking after 70 kilometers. Frozen mid-step toward whatever called him.

Found facing his mountain.

The colony forgot him by nightfall. Went back to their fish. Back to their circles.

But you can't forget.

Because you recognize that walk. That turn away from everything that makes sense. That first step toward your own white nowhere.

The mountain's calling.

The colony's watching.

Pick your direction.

You already have.

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No sponsors. No ads. Just men supporting men walking toward their mountains.

Stand fast,

-Adam

Still walking inland

P.S. - Christie texted while I wrote this. "Tea’s ready. Don't be late for breakfast." Some colonies are worth keeping. Some penguins walk inland to build new ones.

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