Since the original post, I have received quite a lot of feedback. The thoughts of Fatty Goodlander seemed to have inspired others as they did me:
From my friend Esteban after his travels in Vietnam:
Nothing brings this home like traveling abroad, and I feel so fortunate
to have had the rare opportunity to have done it recently. I don't know
if you followed it at all, but my Vietnam/Thailand trip was amazing.
I've posted a ton of pictures and a few notes, so check it out if you
get the chance.
Needless to say, the biggest challenge of coming off something like that has been to try to make sense of the lives we live back home. I have to tell you the truth: I'm struggling. [Of course I speak only for myself, but] We have everything we need to be happy, yet seem to remain blinded to it all. We get caught up in pursuing a career, making money, managing our days, not getting left behind... The melodrama of leading an "ordinary" existence obscures our appreciation of how truly extra-ordinary our existence actually is. And with it, the bravery and the power we all have, to imagine and create the lives of greatness we know, inside, we deserve.
I've traveled before, so I know it can have this wacky effect. I'm certainly running on a high. But at least this time, I think I'm asking the right questions: Why is a face or a scene in Vietnam amazing, breathtaking, humbling, but my walk from my apartment to work mundane, boring, not worthy of pause? Why is a moment in Thailand humbling, to be savored, and one waiting for the El train neglected, spent thinking about what I need to do after I arrive? On the trip, my camera helped bring me into the present, so I'm trying to use it here to the same effect. Because, it seems, that's really what it's all about: being present, and seeing.
Needless to say, the biggest challenge of coming off something like that has been to try to make sense of the lives we live back home. I have to tell you the truth: I'm struggling. [Of course I speak only for myself, but] We have everything we need to be happy, yet seem to remain blinded to it all. We get caught up in pursuing a career, making money, managing our days, not getting left behind... The melodrama of leading an "ordinary" existence obscures our appreciation of how truly extra-ordinary our existence actually is. And with it, the bravery and the power we all have, to imagine and create the lives of greatness we know, inside, we deserve.
I've traveled before, so I know it can have this wacky effect. I'm certainly running on a high. But at least this time, I think I'm asking the right questions: Why is a face or a scene in Vietnam amazing, breathtaking, humbling, but my walk from my apartment to work mundane, boring, not worthy of pause? Why is a moment in Thailand humbling, to be savored, and one waiting for the El train neglected, spent thinking about what I need to do after I arrive? On the trip, my camera helped bring me into the present, so I'm trying to use it here to the same effect. Because, it seems, that's really what it's all about: being present, and seeing.
and from Greg:
I hit 45
last year, also, in May. Kris and I had our family meeting last
September and picked our date to go for 2014. I look forward to seeing
you out there!
here is what Capn JP:
The hardest bit of life is working out of all the possible things you could do which is the best for you.
This account of a trip on the ARC sent from my clubmate Tim. Check it out here
Very nice ARC story. Felt like I was there. In fact, I'm gonna hit the shower to get this salt off my brow.
Posted by: Greg | February 04, 2009 at 10:50 PM