“There are three perfect shapes in the world … the hull of a boat, a violin, and a woman’s body.”    —Charis Wilson quoting Varda

Art Model, Dana © 2007 Terrell Neasley

I’m gonna double up here for a bit and catch you up on a couple of points. Well, maybe actually THREE!

My good friend John Kompare, another accomplished photog, sent me an email that has me wondering about my some of my future priorities. You can catch John’s blog at this link. He forwarded me a newsletter to a sailing club offering to train you up on basic sailing and cruising at a really good deal. I want so badly to take advantage. I’m sure I mentioned this before, but maybe I didn’t. At some point in 2014, I want my travels to hit the water. I want to be on my own boat sailing the South Pacific starting from Chile, to Easter Island and then heading out West. I still have to learn to sail and then I need to get a good boat. Trying to balance that with some of my land-loving travel plans may be problematic on my time table. I am heading back to Central America this year and plan to tour South America next year along with a short stint in Israel. All that doesn’t leave a lot of time nor money for sailing. So I have to better organize my thoughts and priorities.

Art Model, Dana © 2007 Terrell Neasley

This also ties in with my second topic. Two nights ago, I got to hang out at the Hard Rock with some really good friends. I won’t even get started on the party we had the week before. I was a mess. This week however was a bit more civilized and all I had was coke. But my bud Pierre-Luc is an aerialist here in Vegas with one of the Cirque shows. He and I were talking about travel and he mentioned that he’s traveled world-wide quite often over the last few years, taking extensive trips in Europe and Southeast Asia at least 7 times. He’s a young man. I asked him why he’s made traveling so important in his life. What was his answer? Just that…LIFE! This is a man who spends exhilarating hours in the air performing up to 5 or 6 nights a week, doing two shows a night. His skill has to be impeccable. His timing must be absolutely perfect and his rigging has to be without even the slightest defect. A simple slip, to be off in his timing, or faulty rigging can prove disastrous in his profession.

Art Model, Anonymous © 2007 Terrell Neasley

Art Model, Anonymous © 2007 Terrell Neasley

But this is exactly what happened just a few years ago around the time we were first introduced. Faulty rigging resulted in a 30 foot fall onto his head. This is why he travels. He has since healed and is back in the air. And now he takes some time to experience the world. Keep in mind we’re not talking about an accountant or marketing executive. We are speaking to a man who’s already living life on the edge and he’s talking about experiencing life. How many of the rest of us live life making future promises? How many of us are saving up for that life experience that we never make time for beyond a trip to Disneyland? Ever notice how that savings account keeps getting tapped into because “something else came up”? Something will always come up. Sometimes it might take a significant emotional experience to give us that bump we need to get out of our normal routines and do the stuff we dream of doing. I’m not saying you need to build a bucket list. I’m just saying I wish more of us were actually doing the things that make us happy and not putting off these things til the kids leave the house, or until you get that next promotion. There is a big difference between living life and just being alive. To truly live is more than simply surviving. I’m not saying travel is YOUR answer. You may hate traveling, but there IS something you love to do which is that “thing” that you’ve always talked and dreamed about. Find a way. Make your path. Do this. Now.

I’ll save my third thing for later.