Massachusetts man has been walking since 1998, worried to reach home now that his ‘purpose of living’ will meet a ‘hard stop’

There’s a man who describes his “purpose for living” as walking all around the world. Since 1998, he’s been walking — through it all — and has stuck to his route regardless of what life has thrown at him. Now, he’s looking at his final stretch, thinking about what he’ll do next once he’s finally done.

World records are a strange reflection of the human experience. Sometimes, it’s someone doing something completely useless, like eating 80 hotdogs in 10 minutes. Other times, it’s a we’ve never seen before. But sometimes — if we’re lucky — one person comes along and redefines what we think humanity is truly capable of.

We’ve all seen those TikToks about what it would take to walk across all continents. One hundred and eighty-mile swims, fighting through ice, dodging polar bears — and according to the BBC, Karl Bushby has done it all without using any form of transport. He’s expected to finally complete his journey sometime next year.

Bushby is currently in Mexico, waiting for a visa to continue into the final leg. He took some time to reflect on what finishing this journey means to him. “Getting home, I just don’t know. It’s weird — it’s a very strange place to be in where suddenly your purpose for living will have a hard stop. I’m hoping to transition into other things as quickly as possible, keeping mind, body and soul on the move,” he said.

Bushby isn’t interested in our daily chatter about what the Pope thinks about Trump or what’s trending online, so hearing from him in June was a rare treat. Still, he has a long way to go. By August, he had already swum 186 miles through the Caspian and trekked via Turkey, and he should be in greater Europe by now. But he’s always had a few bumps here and there.

Originally from Sutton Park, Bushby hasn’t been home since he left for Chile in 1998 to begin his Forrest Gump-like odyssey. Yet, he doesn’t sound too eager about reuniting with his family. He suspects they’ll have to get to know each other all over again once he’s finally back.

Over his 30,000-mile journey, Bushby has faced a pandemic, unsafe regions, visa issues, financial challenges, and countless other trials — some of which he’s probably forgotten after a quarter-century on the road. News stories about him have occasionally helped explain his mission to countries with strict regimes. Perhaps one day, a famous comedian might stumble upon his story while flying to one of those countries — and vouch for him mid-monologue.

It’s hard to understand why someone would embark on a journey like this. It can’t be for validation, human admiration is too fickle to sustain a 27-year voyage. Bushby does this simply because he feels he has to. That impulse — to stretch our capabilities, to test our limits — is what defines humanity.

Hopefully, at the end of Bushby’s journey, he can write a book — or even have a movie made about his story. Maybe we need to hear more from people like him.