The Unfinished Journey/ Wally Bornmann/July 5, 2026
Do you think about the whys of life?
Maybe you do, maybe you don’t — I’m not sure how much it matters to most folks.
The whys of life have always fascinated me.
The more I think about it, fascinate is a good word, but obsessed is likely more accurate.
For me it matters, it’s always mattered.
Trying to figure out the whys of my life is something I’m addicted to.
I should admit that I may be the eternal four-year-old when it comes to “but why?”
Of course, we all know “Because I said so” never really works.
And so, here I am asking myself, “But why?” again.
When does asking why become pointless?
Or is it that maybe asking why doesn’t get asked enough?
Is asking why better than simply accepting and saying I believe?
I’ve always thought so.
Then again, I’ve always thought there’s more to everything than maybe there is.
But who’s to say and for that matter, why do they get to say it?
****
Maybe I should share the rest of the story and the reason for “WHY?” has been shouting at me.
Back a while ago I decided for the umpteenth time that I want to have a website. Nothing big and glitzy and fancy mind you, just a simple website. You want to know a bit about me and what I’ve done over the years then here’s the address for my website — enjoy.
Now, admittedly, I’m not the guy you want to go to for much of anything related to computers and the internet.
My working model has always been to write something, I called them Musings for the most part, post it to a couple of platforms and that was that.
Oh, I went and got all self-important and started recording some of them and posting them on YouTube and Podbean as well.
Got to feelin’ a bit special until I realized there wasn’t anyone watchin’ or listenin’.
These days I’ve got my stuff scattered across the electronic universe so far I’m pretty sure not even the James Webb Space Telescope could find it all — I know I can’t.
So, you want a why?
I’ve got your why right here — my stuff is all over so maybe it’s a good idea to put it all in one place.
Sounds dang near brilliant coming from me and how I tend to do things, right?
Yeah, well…
Let’s keep going with that “rest of the story” thing.
You see, just getting all my stuff isn’t the only thing I’m thinking about.
Oh no, there has to be more to the why to get me going on anything I say I want to do. Doesn’t matter if it’s losing weight, learning a new song, or, in this case, building a website.
My why is one of those whys I worry about with me — it has to do with how important I think I am when it comes to what the Universe has on its agenda.
Am I supposed to be thinking I’m all that special?
Now, let’s get real here. There ain’t much of anyone who reads what I write or cares a bit about what I think. Hell, best I can tell my kids and grandkids don’t read what I write or watch my videos and if they do they sure don’t tell me.
I’m good with that in case you’re wondering.
Okay, maybe I’m not all that good with it but I’m willing to accept it for what it is.
Still, I find myself wondering if one day years from now, after I’m not around to get asked what I think about this or that, there might be a place where they can go to find out what Dad or Grandpa Wally was thinking.
Then there’s the wandering soul who stumbles across something that leads them to my website, and out of nothing more than curiosity, starts reading. Maybe there comes a point where they say to themselves what I wrote made them think a bit and they were glad they found the site.
Even back in my campfire days I talked about dropping pebbles to send the ripples to the shoreline without ever knowing what might come of it all — for me that’s a pretty good why.
Still, when you get right down to it, what needs to happen first is a website.
Folks, I gotta tell ya those dang things don’t show up on their own, someone has to build them.
In case you’re wondering that someone is me with more than a little help from my AI buddy.
So, here I stand at the trailhead wondering whether or not taking the hike is worth the effort.
Does it matter whether or not all my stuff is in one place?
Between you and me I admit the answer comes back, “Probably not.”
And yet there’s that ember at the bottom of the campfire that has the possibility of starting a new fire.
****
Okay, I do wonder if maybe I’m an optimist wearing a pessimist’s suit.
I can find destruction in a rainbow about as fast as anyone.
The thing is, all the while I’m looking at what got tore up by the tornado that just came through, there’s a part of me quietly whispering, “Yeah, but look at that rainbow.”
I remember being on an uncle’s farm and seeing a rainbow so clear and close that I knew if I ran fast enough I could get to it. Oh, and of course I knew there was a pot of gold waiting for me.
I tried and got laughed at for my efforts. Still, I knew I’d missed out on something more.
That’s where I find myself today — at the beginning of a journey that’s unfinished, the beginning of a journey that will never be finished because Father Time always wins.
The laughing may commence, but I see the rainbow, and I’m willing to say I do.
At seventy-six I don’t run, hell, I don’t hardly walk most days. The thing is I see that kid of four running after that rainbow and asking why I can’t get to it.
This morning I woke up, got a cup of coffee, sat down at my computer and found myself asking why I’m trying to do what I’m trying to do.
Right now I see my uncle’s farm and that rainbow just beyond the barn.
Right now I’m thinking if I run fast enough I can get to it and maybe, just maybe, there really is promise waiting out there.
Right now I’m willing to admit I don’t have the why of what I’m going to do, but I think the why is out there on the trail and I think it’s worth walking toward.
When it comes right down to it I suspect I haven’t found my why at the trailhead.
Maybe that’s what I’ve been getting wrong all these years. I’ve been standing at the trailhead waiting for a reason to begin, when maybe the reason is waiting somewhere out on the trail.
I guess there’s only one way to find out.
In case you’re the least bit interested, you can go to wallacebornmann.com and see how the journey is going.
It’s not much but it’s a first step and I need to take that first step to see where the trail might lead.
Until next time keep your Unfinished Journey unforgettable.
Happy trails.
The Unfinished Journey 