My sister has been on a journey. Every day, well every week day and most weekends, for the past two years she has woken up to go to school. She is a non-traditional student. After working for five or six years to spend 2.5 years and change in Africa she realized a passion for photography, more accurately she realized that she could help tell an entire story with a single picture. She freezes time in shuttered moments through the lens of a camera. It's pretty impressive, the way she tells stories. She left behind the comfort of other jobs to pursue something that she deemed worthy and has yet to look back.
My Brother-In-Law has been on a journey. Every day, well every week day and most weekends, for the past two years he has woken up to work on school. He is a non-traditional student. After working for five or six years to spend 2.5 years and change in Africa he realized a passion for drawing, more accurately he realized he could make drawings come alive with a leaded pencil. He creates an image that tells a story in the white pages that elegantly fill the pad of his sketch book with life like art. He left behind the comfort of other jobs to pursue something that he deemed worthy and has yet to look back.
In an otherwise safe world, a world that often beckons for traditional routes toward vocations, they took the road less traveled. They gave up their cars and comforts to follow their passions. As my sister walked the carpet leading to the stage, graduating with a hand shake and a wave she simultaneously closed and opened chapters of her dreams. She worked toward the dream of what she felt her heart desired and dared to go for it, with out a safety net. It was not easy, but she made it. They made it.
Today they head off, across country back into the unknown. The road is open. The road is free. They are headed west, and who knows where they will end up.
My girlfriend and I are on a journey, as my car turned from 79,999 to 80,000 I celebrated another 10,000 miles. This celebration was different. My girlfriend had been next to me when my car turned from 69,999 to 70,000. We've been adventuring together for 10,000 miles; finding our passions in the seeing of a sunset, the feeling of the wind in the face with windows down, the view of mountains and waterfalls, the emotion of peace, love, and scenic views.
We've been on a journey. And while my adventure currently keeps me in my current city and my sister and brother-in-law's takes them to another part of the country, we are all taking the road less traveled. We are pursuing and finding the passions that lead to the freedom for which our souls long. We are inspiring and inspirations to each other. So here's to 10,000 miles on the road less traveled and to the hope of ten thousands more.
Way to go Jeff and Adraine!
Last year, I heard someone talk about seeing lions out in the wild while on Safari in Africa. She shared how amazing it was to see them out there, roaming free in the wide open spaces as opposed to caged in a zoo. She looked back on her visits to the zoo and said, for her, there was something sad in the eyes of those animals.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is- the zoo is a safe place. There will always be plenty of food. There are no droughts in the zoo. There is security, but they will never experience life as they were created to live it. They will never know the freedom of the wide open spaces.
Life on the plains is full of uncertainty. Food and water are not a guarantee. There's no vet to attend to illness or injury. Life in the wild is uncertain and sometimes very difficult. And yet they are free, living life like they were meant to experience it.
There is a price for playing it safe. There is a price for living free. It's a matter of what price you are willing to pay.
I would gladly choose freedom and the uncertainty that (always) comes with it in order to live and become all I was created to be.