Thank you for lovely story, mention, and prompt. I always feel torn between the stable chaos of my family life and the pull of the open road. I long for solitude but can't help but feel antsy on the rare occasions when I have it. I fantasize about living a more nomadic existence, but I hate packing and thrive on the routine and consistency of my day-to-day life. In the end, for me, home and travel work together to make me appreciate both!
Oh, man! I totally understand the pull between routine and adventure. And I HATE packing. Which is silly because I do it a lot. Also having stuff and minimalism, which is for sure related. Thanks for commenting!
The Magician - was fantastic, Holly. So much good writing, so many deep and thought-provoking quotes. The piece really stirred me to consider my perspective on moving, stopping, and fear.
Below are two lines I really enjoyed:
“With the sun’s glow like a palm on my back,” — such a good opening.
“Back when drumming was life, in the middle of a set, you could close your eyes and become one, the pounding indiscernible from your throbbing heartbeat, like traveling inside the organ that pumped life through the universe, in tune with the whispers of its anguishes and the thumping pulse of its ecstasy.” — wonderful writing. It says so much, with such power.
To Go or Not to Go - was wonderful as well. I certainly related to your torn-ness — it is such an interesting thing that we want seemingly incongruous things all at once, it certainly illustrates the complexity of our condition.
I really liked this line:
“It speaks to the multi-prongedness of my desires and appetites”.
And Happy Birthday!
I hope you had a good day and that you enjoy your stay in the woodsy-house. :)
Thank you! I'm taken once more with what catches your attention. In the Magician, the two lines you pointed out are the two I tweaked a bit from the original.
Oh my god, the wanting of incongruous things, right? Another of mine is things themselves--the joy of minimalism, the having what I want. I get emotionally attached to objects. I have very little space to hold them in. Maybe it's an important part of the yearning that makes us grow, this duality of desire, that keeps us curious. ;)
Well, even though I haven’t read the original, if I say so myself - your tweaking worked a treat.
“This duality of desire” — I love that! And yes, I find myself endlessly fascinated by my many contradictory wants, my incongruous ideas, and my (as you put it) dualistic desires — it often leads me to wonder: do I really know what I want? And even if I supposedly got it, would that satisfy me?
And the scary thing is, I think the answer is, no. I think I like this mess — it keeps things interesting.
I am currently conflicted between traveling more all over the US and World, and the impact my consumption of fuel has on the environment. I read recently that if everyone stopped driving so much we could have a huge impact on climate change. I realize your whole MO is to be on the road, and since you are not consuming fossil fuels for a home, etc., your movement is not so significant. Fun to read your posts, and I forwarded Substack to my daughter to read.
Oh I feel that debate! Yes, I feel OK about the van and the offset from little use of fossil fuels for a home base. AND I much want/plan to travel the world as well. So, this is a conflict I find myself considering for sure.
I do believe the benefits of traveling to far-flung places and engaging with the wilder world cannot be ignored. We must on a larger scale see that we’re all one, all connected, that our vitality is interdependent. Does my traveling help this one soul understand that on a whole-body level? Yes. Does it help others? I hope, like a ripple in a pond, yes.
I was at a trailhead yesterday at the end of a hike and stopped to do a little writing session. Around me, I heard Spanish, Russian, and I believe Arabic. Aw, I thought to myself, breathing deeply, how wonderful. I also longed to be somewhere where my first language wasn’t the dominant one.
Thank you for lovely story, mention, and prompt. I always feel torn between the stable chaos of my family life and the pull of the open road. I long for solitude but can't help but feel antsy on the rare occasions when I have it. I fantasize about living a more nomadic existence, but I hate packing and thrive on the routine and consistency of my day-to-day life. In the end, for me, home and travel work together to make me appreciate both!
Oh, man! I totally understand the pull between routine and adventure. And I HATE packing. Which is silly because I do it a lot. Also having stuff and minimalism, which is for sure related. Thanks for commenting!
I’m so loving all your writings. Thanks.
Thank you, Debbie! I’m loving all your adventures :)
These are achingly lovely photos, and I feel the depth of your passion for these strokes of nature. Thanks for a fine read!
Thank you!!!
The Magician - was fantastic, Holly. So much good writing, so many deep and thought-provoking quotes. The piece really stirred me to consider my perspective on moving, stopping, and fear.
Below are two lines I really enjoyed:
“With the sun’s glow like a palm on my back,” — such a good opening.
“Back when drumming was life, in the middle of a set, you could close your eyes and become one, the pounding indiscernible from your throbbing heartbeat, like traveling inside the organ that pumped life through the universe, in tune with the whispers of its anguishes and the thumping pulse of its ecstasy.” — wonderful writing. It says so much, with such power.
To Go or Not to Go - was wonderful as well. I certainly related to your torn-ness — it is such an interesting thing that we want seemingly incongruous things all at once, it certainly illustrates the complexity of our condition.
I really liked this line:
“It speaks to the multi-prongedness of my desires and appetites”.
And Happy Birthday!
I hope you had a good day and that you enjoy your stay in the woodsy-house. :)
Thank you! I'm taken once more with what catches your attention. In the Magician, the two lines you pointed out are the two I tweaked a bit from the original.
Oh my god, the wanting of incongruous things, right? Another of mine is things themselves--the joy of minimalism, the having what I want. I get emotionally attached to objects. I have very little space to hold them in. Maybe it's an important part of the yearning that makes us grow, this duality of desire, that keeps us curious. ;)
Well, even though I haven’t read the original, if I say so myself - your tweaking worked a treat.
“This duality of desire” — I love that! And yes, I find myself endlessly fascinated by my many contradictory wants, my incongruous ideas, and my (as you put it) dualistic desires — it often leads me to wonder: do I really know what I want? And even if I supposedly got it, would that satisfy me?
And the scary thing is, I think the answer is, no. I think I like this mess — it keeps things interesting.
Thanks Holly :)
I am currently conflicted between traveling more all over the US and World, and the impact my consumption of fuel has on the environment. I read recently that if everyone stopped driving so much we could have a huge impact on climate change. I realize your whole MO is to be on the road, and since you are not consuming fossil fuels for a home, etc., your movement is not so significant. Fun to read your posts, and I forwarded Substack to my daughter to read.
Michelangelo's Last Judgement and a Damned Soul... https://cwspangle.substack.com/p/michaelangelos-last-judgement-and
Cissie! Thank you.
Oh I feel that debate! Yes, I feel OK about the van and the offset from little use of fossil fuels for a home base. AND I much want/plan to travel the world as well. So, this is a conflict I find myself considering for sure.
I do believe the benefits of traveling to far-flung places and engaging with the wilder world cannot be ignored. We must on a larger scale see that we’re all one, all connected, that our vitality is interdependent. Does my traveling help this one soul understand that on a whole-body level? Yes. Does it help others? I hope, like a ripple in a pond, yes.
I was at a trailhead yesterday at the end of a hike and stopped to do a little writing session. Around me, I heard Spanish, Russian, and I believe Arabic. Aw, I thought to myself, breathing deeply, how wonderful. I also longed to be somewhere where my first language wasn’t the dominant one.