“beginnings”

in some point of time, every journey must have a beginning, and at this point the journey is usually just a vague idea, such as i want to go hike Mt. Rainer or i want to go to Italy….. the journey at this point may be an idea, a hope, a wish or a promise that we can carry with us for years or we put into place immediately… my current journey i carried with me literally my whole life…. …. i remember as a child, i would spin a globe and randomly place my finger at a given place and stop the globe…. where my finger rested was where my journey would take me…. today many of those places are actually alive in my memory as i did journey to those far off places… many of my journeys were due to a book i read…. some books that i read i carried that dream with me for a lifetime…. Two Years Before the Mast, a book i first bought as a young child and i knew i too one day would sail Round the Horn (Cape Horn)…. yes i must admit i did not battle the wind and waves in a small sailboat but instead i was on a Princess cruise i was working…. the size of the boat wasn’t as important as just physically seeing “the Rock” and knowing i was there, that i experienced the thrill and excitement of everyday as that dream materialized….

in the next stage of a Journey, the Journey will start to develop with a starting point and yes a final destination…. the final destination is only the physical end of that journey, as what is gained by that journey we can carry with us for the rest of our life, and now i am not talking about that so called destination but the emotional or mental growth that we found during that journey… that is gained by the day to day experience, not the destination… on my wrist i wear a bracelet, a gift, and on this bracelet is engraved the words “Embrace the Journey”….. with my current journey this is my bible, to embrace everyday, every minute, for i really do not know where this destination will actually be or when i will reach it…. the destination is nothing more than a distraction, i must focus on everyday, every sunrise and sunset, every emotion from every minute….
as an Alaskan Naturalist for Princess Cruises i tell this to every passenger i meet…. do not focus on that destination but embrace everyday of this journey because it’s those memories we will carry with us for the rest of our life… it’s those memories that will bring you back to Alaska again….
my good friend Michael, an incredibly gifted photographer has seen the natural world through the lens of his camera…. his photographs are a testimony to how he embraced every minute of a particular journey… i never saw a photograph of his final destination, as to him that probably just marked and end he probably didn’t want to happen…
remember, your journeys are out there waiting for you… journeys have no boundaries, only the limits of your dreams or imagination… and always remember, “Embrace your Journey”