Journeys

I was once talking to a photographer I greatly admired and asked him how he got so many great photographs of amazing locations. His response to me was to just say ‘yes’ to adventure. Since then, I’ve used that motto and can’t express how much it has worked. It was around this time that I also heard that the best photographer is the one who has their camera on them, or alternately, the best camera is the one you have on you.

It seems a bit redundant to have a portfolio of Journeys when I have an Instagram feed I take pains to curate, but with social media site’s file compressions and the bulk media sensation that nothing lasts long, I have gathered some moments that will maybe give you an idea of the adventure I live, and most definitely give me a reminder and stimulation for my nomadic heart.

This process has led me to contemplate the meaning of a journey, and the difference between a solo journey and one shared with a companion. I told myself long ago that just because everybody says ‘no’ to a journey, doesn’t mean I can’t still say ‘yes’. It is easier to avoid the logistics of traveling with a companion, especially one less used to the road and not partial to change, but the enjoyment and fulfillment of having a travel companion is entirely worth it. So much so, I have diverted my own solo missions to join with others and share the road to adventure with them, wherever that may lead.

A journey to me is open eyes, open mind. I came across a bit of Alan Watts recently where he spoke of life as a dance or a song. One doesn’t write a song only for the final note, one doesn’t begin a dance for the final movement! One sings because it is precisely the act of singing that feels so good, not the silence after the final note has been sung.

I try to adapt this attitude on my own journey, for my own nomadic heart, and in all the paths I walk I never feel like I’m lost.