In travel I’m looking for new experiences, new people, new ideas, new landscapes, a return to my essence and an exploration of who I am in the world. It’s a pilgrimage, with a lot of fun mixed in. I often temporarily leave behind friends and family whom I deeply love, and the comfort of my beautiful home. It is sometimes a lonely journey. It cleans out the cobwebs in my head from living in the same place for so long. In travel, when one really sees things, and is not just looking at them, checking off another item on the proverbial bucket list, one sees humanity unfolding. People are very much alike. We are creative, need love and companionship, suffer, laugh, try to get through the day. Contemplating artifacts of history in combination with current cultural practices illuminates how people have lived and changed over the millennia; at its core, humanity really hasn’t changed that much. The human condition is still the same. Yet, one feels the impermanence of life, and that the soul is strengthened by it-- it focuses you on love in its many forms, and centers you in the moment. Nothing is permanent, which gives life meaning. We are all on this planet for a finite period of time, a blink really.  It’s humbling and beautiful. Travel also quenches my thirst for knowledge, and desire to see the world through my own eyes, unedited by anyone else.

Many of my trips are centered around photography. I find that it focuses my mind, and is an easy step to be in the moment; allowing me to really see what is in front of me, instead of just looking at it. When I get home, editing photographs gives me yet another opportunity to deeply reflect on the journey.  (And think, geez, learn how to use your camera already!)