Monday, October 8, 2012

Freedom






Those of you who share my Facebook postings know that I was lucky enough to travel to Alaska last month.  Yes, I know I went a little crazy with the photo album - over 100 pictures - but it was such an overwhelming experience I couldn’t cull the selections any further, so for those of you who plowed through them, I applaud your effort.  It could have been worse, I started with over 600 images.

So now that I’ve had some time to think about it, which shot best sums up what the trip meant to me?  It’s this one, that my friend and traveling companion Sharon took as our float plane was about to take off on our bear viewing trip.  Alaska’s considerable lack of roads makes flying and boating often the best or only way to get around and the float plane is a great choice. The idea that you aren’t bound by landing strips or control towers is very liberating. As a rule I hate to fly and my stomach hates it even more, but there was none of that on this flight, I felt at peace and free.  I flew.

This is all very much a metaphor for other things that have been going on in my life.  I came back from Alaska to a new job, a great outlook and a real excitement about the future.  If I could enjoy an airplane ride, then certainly I could give a presentation at the Outdoor Writer’s of America conference (public speaking, is another great mortifier). Was it a great presentation?  No, but it was a start and the crazy thing is, I want to try it again and will at the CINE film festival in Missoula in a couple of weeks.  

OK, who is this person and what have you done with Carol?

Well, a lot of things have been coming into focus for me this year; helping me to get unstuck from the comfortable rut I have been in for a while. The changes at work have been dramatic. Stuff’s happening, new people are coming onboard, I’m undaunted (well, pretty much) that I’ll be supervising people who are more creative than I’ll ever hope to be. Okay, so my new office is going to be an old closet, I really don’t care, it’s just not that important where I sit. Being unburdened by old claustrophobic relationships and a desire to stretch my wings a little further makes me want to fly even more. Forgive my exuberance, but I can’t wait to see where this portion of the journey will take me.  

2 comments:

  1. I can see you taking wing like a wild bird, free and at peace ... what a lovely image for the fantastic attitude you bring to the journey.

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