the solitude of discovery

i've been thinking a lot lately about solitude. maybe it's the time of year, as we wrap up the bulk of our wedding work for year and ask ourselves where do we want to go next. continuing that process of discovering what we want to say and how we can continue saying it in our work...i read an article recently in an issue of one of my favourite magazines that got me thinking about all this. it was about someone you don't often hear much about. in fact, i can honestly say that i hadn't really thought about him or his role before reading the piece... the article was, in a general sense, about apollo eleven. most of us are pretty familiar with the names neil armstrong and buzz aldrin, but this article was mainly about the third crew member, a man by the name of michael collins. as i learned, while armstrong and aldrin were space walkin' and makin' history, collins was the one who remained in the command module as it orbited the moon, alone, sometimes even in radio silence. it reminded me a lot of scenes from the movie gravity, which is a spectacular movie by the way. i think what makes it most powerful is how it speaks to that deepest darkest fear of being utterly and absolutely alone. because that's when you find out what you're really made of.anyhow, so while on the outset this article was about the moon landing and space, really it got me thinking about how we often romanticize exploration, and that true exploration can be quite a lonely proposition. it made me think about my own evolution as an artist and creative, about how the times i felt most inspired was when i just do the work and shut out all the noise that is constantly around. but this is hard. i think most of us are just a bit afraid to be left to our own devices, and we crave the affirmation that what we're pursuing is right somehow, because it's what we see others doing or we're getting a lot of great feedback on the internet. sometimes i crave this. most of the time, actually.discovering what is inside of you and what you have to say that only you can say, that i think is the greatest journey of discovery, and it's one we all go on as we live our day to day, year to year existences. sometimes i look around me and the world just seems very.. busy. there are so many people doing so many new and great things. this is good, this inspires me and makes me hopeful, but it's also intimidating sometimes! and most often it's all delivered straight into our desks via the internet. it all makes it easy to just settle on blending in. but i think if we choose to settle, it's not only to our own detriment but those others, no matter how many or few, we could impact with our voice. it's hard work, but hard work always gets you somewhere good in the end. i just know that no matter how hard it is to map your own course and all the failed turns that comes with it, there's nothing better in the world than discovering uncharted waters.here i am in my happy place. these photos were taken on a late evening in england this past summer as the sun lingered in the sky. the north yorkshire moors is where a part of me comes from and the blood in my veins and the wind that blows over the empty landscape are one and the same. this is truly one of the tiny corners of the earth where a piece of my heart always resides. it's wild and empty and unconventionally beautiful.reaching a new shore or ascending a new peak is just one moment : what comes before is frequently hardship, boredom, and life threatening danger. to reach somewhere new is to be alone, and there's both something inspiring and heart-rending about that / jason ward for oh comelyjuly 2013 / north yorkshire moors, uk