places
places
Most all of the travel I've done has been alone, holding up a mirror before me that teaches me truly who I am and what I'm capable of. The more I see of the world the more I learn my place in it. The further away from home I go the closer I get to parts of myself I never see, I am taught how small and how big I am all at once, that while I'm here I can make a huge difference or I can barely have an impact. Travel has shown me that I am scared and yet fearless, that I am spontaneous and also planned, that I am steady but enjoy risk and will push the limits within the confines of what at times can be a very large box.
Exploring new places has guided me towards a thought process of radical acceptance, vividly shown me that the only way to navigate life is without attachment and to be wildly wildly grateful for everything I have in this life. Oh the places I will go...
books
books
What don't books do? Books provide me with the most magical worlds when I need to get away, they feed me information whenever I want to learn and know more and they introduce me to characters that make me feel completely normal when I am not identifying with anybody around me.
My books are my most treasured possessions. They create a nest around me of stories and reference.
music
music
It's hard for me to know where to begin. My first memories are tied to music, in fact, I feel like I can't remember anything about my childhood until I start to think about my life's soundtrack. So let's see, we have Bob Marley, James Taylor, U2, Jimi Hendrix, Madonna. Then I learned about MTV and it was Radiohead, Live, Collective Soul and Pearl Jam. 90s manufactured pop and that's all before I got to high school.
Music is such a feeling I can't even write romantically about it. You either have it or you don't. People who love music, like truly love music, are always one in a million.
I have such a unique and massive attachment to so many songs, albums and musicians, I could never list them all and I could definitely never describe why they are important to me.
So, playlists it is...
people
people
The people I interact with are my mirrors, I am confronted with the best and worst of myself by others, I learn the most about myself through my relationships with people. I am a social creature desperate to connect with those around me, even if at times I want to live on an island. I learn from other people, grow as a result of my experiences with people and ultimately become the best versions of myself when I have the right people in My atmosphere.
And sometimes I get to experience life through other people's eyes, I get glimpses into who people are, where they came from, how they've been broken and rebuilt. When I am lucky I learn from their mistakes and when I don't I am able to feel less alone because somebody was there before me.
People inspire me, people teach me more than I could ever learn on my own, I love people.
things
things
If everything around me burned to the ground, I would be perfectly fine. But that doesn't mean that there aren't things, objects, items that make my life inherently better in some way. I wouldn't go as far as saying these purchasable things bring me pure joy but they definitely facilitate pursuits that do make me very happy.
There are also some things that I feel simply elevate the world we live in with style and grace. Whether they are designed flawlessly or just look cool, there are some have to haves.