Maybe Today...
Last year, me and my buddy RJ purchased wadding boots for our photography trips, out into nature and such, I took it a step further by purchasing an entire outfit that would keep me dry up to chest level; you know since I'm so adventurous when it comes to playing in the water and all. Also, I figured Carhartt would take note and send me some merchandise since I'm someone they'd love to work with (shameless fashion plug).
It feels as though we've stood in some pretty epic spots, well to be fair, RJ and AE are the ones who've navigated us to most of the treasures so all credit goes to them. I mean, I wouldn't have done Yosemite at night if not for that guy and his steely driving hands and eagle eyes keeping us from plunging to our fiery demise.
Tonight, my buddy Nicholas paid me a visit at Dragonstone and we sat and spoke for nearly three hours about life and all that is taking place within our world today. The conversation was refreshing because for over the last twenty years we've grown to see the world in such a way that most others do not.
The one topic which stuck out to me, tonight, was that of optics and by optics we were referencing what others see and how that's measured within life, i.e. home, work, etc. We live within a world where people are upset about so much and the options we have are either to feed into the chaos or walk away from the chaos.
I've said this several times over the course of the last few weeks, "Your chaos, cannot become my chaos" and that holds true in the sense that my peace can and should only be tied to me, others can add to it but should never have the ability to take away from it. Again, I'm on a journey which has been long, perhaps a bit overdue, but in the end necessary, as the quest for inner piece should never be quick.
My mind is telling me to sell all of my belongings and move to a place so peaceful that I'd want for nothing, however, I'm unsure if selling all of my belongings is needed, as I'm learning to "want" less in so many areas of life. The material parts of life do eventually fade but it's the memories which I'd like to last a little longer.
Today during our conversation, we spoke of how international travel might not happen any time soon and how that might look to a person such as myself. As the thought and subsequent reality drifted across my mind, I wondered if there were any places left which I truly wanted to see and the truth is there are only a handful.
I would like to visit my sister and brother-in-law in Poland, I'd like to visit the countryside of Serres, Greece, and I'd like to spend a few more hours in Multyfarnham, Ireland, feeling the mist brush up against my face and sharing laughter and whiskey with family.
My cameras have blessed me with thousands of moments/memories which I'll continue to share as I find the time, my adventures have left me wanting a whole lot less than I did in years past. You'll understand this feeling fully, IF you're ever granted the opportunity to sit on a tariff in Machu Picchu and reflect on life and also reflect on why the hell you're so scared of heights.
In all honesty, we don't need foreign travel to "feel alive" or to find ourselves, the real truth is we probably just need a mirror and some good lighting to see ourselves and examine what we're after in life. My room has a few saying that are on sticky notes and they're all reminders for me to be gentle to my thoughts and actions.
I snapped this picture of RJ while he stood on the shoreline at Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur, California. This rock has probably been photographed millions of times over, during the last one hundred years as it's known as being a doorway into the see per se. Ryan's wife would let us venture straight up a massive wall behind us in order to capture the rock from a different vantage point so we did our best with what we had to work with. Weeeeeeell, again, he stood alongside people (who are pictured) and I got bored and stood even further back from all of them because one can only take a picture of the same rock so many times. Side note, that's my friend request icon over RJs head just in case he said he didn't receive a friend request from me; you all see it there, I'll let you know if he accepted (30yrs plus of friendship should get me a lifetime friend add).
Maybe today is the day I've been waiting for, the day when I notice the peace that I'm after isn't as far away as I thought it was; it all starts with me and ends with me. The truth is, your peace works the same.
I took this picture not knowing that I'd see the light....
