The More, The Merrier!
It's true: if you're awake, you will not lose the path.
She crossed her legs, hunched closer to me, tucked the grey layers behind her ear, and said, "What are you afraid of?" "Well," I paused, gathered the fears rattling about in my being, and admitted, "I'm afraid of losing the path." "You can't lose the path," she sat upright, uncrossed her legs, and rooted her feet. "As long as you're present, you won't miss the markers; trust me." I filled my lungs with breath, and tried, in exhale, to believe her certainty. At nine the next morning, I hoisted the kilograms on my back and set down the path, a 343km solo walk to Muxia by way of O'Porto and Santiago. The path has become foggy many times on this journey. If there's one truth I'm learning, it's that, whether I fight or accept it, the path eventually finds me and I, it.
I have always been a maker, a creater, an imaginer. But the Camino, the way to Muxia, awoke me to a truth that's been banging on my gut's door since I was seven. The Camino calls me to engage in the process of sharing and creating art with others. My process stems from an insatiable want to share what I see; to memorialize a moment of beauty and wonder. Here marks the spot of the Camino's awakening in action. She was right: the markers are there; it's up to me to be awake enough to see them.
My hope is to impart the extraordinary that I see in the ordinary, to capture moments of synchronicity, and to generate curiosity and thought about others. I ignite with strangers, the unknown, and the wonder of seeming simplicity. I draw to light that creates shape and movement, that shows a space or place or person in a way that I hadn’t considered before. I resonate with others’ explorations of life when they operate from curiosity, pose questions, and seek truth. I plan to harken on these resources, these guides and practices, to move on this journey, living life along the way.
Henri Cartier-Bresson's work is the finger on my pulse: "A photograph is neither taken or seized by force. It offers itself up. It is the photo that takes you. One must not take photos." I have felt Cartier-Bresson's decisive moment and am captured by the practice that leads to that magic. I am setting off on this path and hope that you will join the journey too.
Please visit from time to time. And in the spirt of, the more the merrier, please invite people who might want to join the journey too.
Many thanks for visiting my blog and website!
Sincerely,
Shannon
