I think I decided to be a writer, a journalist, a note-taker, even a doodler, in order to remember the fascinating things that my senses have allowed me to experience. I have notebooks scribbled with descriptions and depictions of the parts of the world I have seen, tasted, touched, heard, smelled, and how it all made me feel.
And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it. ~ Roald Dahl
My traveling is often fueled by what some refer to as my “tree hugger” instincts. I crave kayaking on clear waters, shuffling along rocky ridges, exhaling while hovering at the apex of a rock-climbing route. Simply put I’m a nature addict. My eyes feast on the pink and orange sherbet (not sherbert – found out today that adding an r in the second syllable is a common mistake) blends of watercolored sunsets. I get a high when a vista rises in step with me from behind trees and hills, and will never tire of seeing the same one. I’m a photojournalist; capturing beauty and sharing it with others is part of the gig. But sometimes I leave my camera behind to really live the experience, to actually live in the moment. However, I’ve recently realized that perhaps subconsciously I haven’t been recording the world around me for my own memory.
I’ve come to terms with my new addiction: people. My grandmother had been a teacher, now my mother is, too. Within me there exists and innate desire to pass knowledge on to others as well. To witness their faces light up in expressive surprise, joy, and sadness. To watch them lean in with sincere interest, concern, or cramps of laughter. I may not know everything about the jungle surrounding me, but what I do know is fascinating and I want to share it as soon as possible with others. But it’s a two-way street. You can learn and be inspired just from listening, too.
Although I have my introvert moments, I find myself easily attached to people’s stories, their personalities, their expressive laughs. Sometimes the fixation is from a distance, people watching, eavesdropping – oh come on we all do it sometimes – but to me they are like characters in the book of life. I record the creases in their face, from laugh lines to crow’s feet, make note of how they walk and talk. These strangers are no longer strangers; rather they are friends I want to interact with, souls that inspire, teachers – and I, their student.
Here in Costa Rica, people from around the world and all walks of life surround me. A grey-haired Canadian park-ranger couple, a potty-mouth divorced woman between jobs, a Kenyan biodigestor researcher, a slam-poetry competing intern I got to know over a beer in town. They all share stories. Many times it’s not what they say, but the emotions tied to each word as they explain the draft of a novel they have finally completed, share a life lesson, or passionately read a poem to the girl with the ever-widening eyes.
The effect you have on others is the most valuable currency there is.
~ Jim Carey
The first, second and even third hellos may all be awkward or unexpected, but the conversations that follow are always worth the initial stutters.
happy hiker 