ONE STONE AT A TIME
27 feels strange.
I never really envisioned I’d be at where I am now. I’m not unhappy, but neither satisfied. There’s more for me I know, and more there is I’m after. Stones I will keep turning, one by one.
No, I did not envision myself here, but this “version” I’ve fallen into I don’t dismay over. I’m doing what I love, first and foremost. And to know what it is you love - what you fervently love - is not anything of small significance, especially if it’s a love that can carry you far.
The last few steps as I neared the summit of Gunsight Mountain. A moment captured by my wonderful partner and co-adventurer, Ernesta.
No, I did not envision myself here, but I know love and passion arrived here with me. For some time you can only really envision your future through the lens in which the world provides you, until you choose for yourself to see under a different light and through a different lens. Perhaps those early visions of where I thought I would be by now were guided by expectations not set by me, but the world around me - a world I often look at with confusion, constantly wondering how to “fit in” without losing myself and who I am.
The truth is my passions took me far away from what I envisioned for myself, and perhaps what others envisioned as well. But still, I do not dismay over it. I love it. I love where I’ve been. A different path I’ve clearly taken, when I look back, a path filled with adventure and sunsets, discovery and joy, deep friendships, and lifelong passions and memories.
My perspective from the same moment as above. A moment transcendent of words and one that left a remarkable impact on me.
I love that I’ve spent countless early mornings and late nights moving freely through the mountains capturing the beauty with the lens I look through. I love how the time I’ve spent outside has morphed my photography and writing, reflecting the impact these wild places has left on my soul and body. I love the friendships and memories I’ve made. I wouldn’t trade that love for anything - anything - for I know, despite how far this world will circle into its own dismay and destruction, that cannot be taken away from me. I know these wild places will be there, and all I have to do is reach out to the mountains and places that which I call home. I know my love for the flowers that bloom cannot be diminished by strife, I know the sound of silent shores to my ears, the waters whispering through its stones cannot be silenced by the chaos that consumes this world. I know the joy of discovering new places, looking at the mountains around me and picking one - any one - and searching for it cannot be stolen from me.
To have all that is to know I’ve lived, and can continue to live a life fueled by love and passion. And I’m happy about that, despite whatever expectations the world holds over my head. So dreams I will keep chasing, new adventures I will keep pursuing, passions and interests I will keep growing, and love and friendships I will keep building - one stone at a time. And wherever that takes me, I know I will look back with fondness, undismayed.
One stone at a time.
Mount Edwards stands to the left, Gunsight Mountain stands to the right.
