Challenge #8: EXPANDING HORIZONS

I will focus on my passion for travel by planning three trips this year, connecting with fellow travelers and organizations to explore new opportunities, AND I will “travel” and connect with like-minded folks online by posting on the blogs I read (rather than just reading them!)

 

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” –Mark Twain

Background

When did you start traveling?  My interest wasn’t really sparked until the ripe age of 29.  I went to Club Med on vacation, which opened my eyes to another way to live – how to be a “citizen of the planet,” (rather than just my hometown)…so many of the people working there were doing this with ease and grace – I wanted that!  I returned from an action- and culturally-packed trip, hatched a plan and signed up for French language and scuba diving lessons, and six months later flew to Club Med in the Dominican Republic, where I met, and still remain friends with, many fellow citizens of the planet.

Since then, and over the past few years especially, I have fallen in love with the fun of traveling to new places, either alone or with others.  I have concluded that there is no better way to learn about the world other than to just get out there as often as possible: soak in the atmosphere, the culture, and the environment.  To become a traveler not a tourist  (there is quite a difference) is a true joy, and has been quite a learning process.  I have actually traveled out of my little Southern California region an average of about once a month for the past three years, and have been leading scuba dive trips focused on fish surveying to the Caribbean over the past few years - combining both passions, along with the joy of meeting new travelers.  My goal is to do more of this (fun, adventurous, and educational) in new places, and beyond just mostly diving focused.  The amazing trip to the Grand Canyon last year showed me that there is much more to see than just the sea out there in this big beautiful world!

So, I am planning a few new trips, exploring the potential for more related experiences such as travel writing and adventure travel work opportunities, and also traveling online more purposefully by posting on other blogs (many of them travel related of course!).  I wanted to make a conscious effort to connect with people within the travel and online communities that I know I want to explore and pursue.

What I did, how it went, and what I learned:

·      I planned the challenge this month knowing that I had a lengthy 11 day trip during it - my annual volunteer pilgrimage to the serene isle of Little Cayman (full time human population 160), to witness and record the annual Nassau Grouper fish spawning aggregation (temporary population approximately 3500-4000 at the West End) during the winter’s fullest moon.  This trip again exceeded my expectations regarding natural beauty, suitability to my strengths, and sheer enjoyment!  The combination of people who made up this year’s Grouper Moon Project team is truly extraordinary combining scientists, artists, writers, educators, environmental and government staff, and more – all focused on saving this endangered species and Caribbean icon.  Watching the fireworks of thousands of fish congregate and spawn, 5 – 25 at a time in vertical rushes is truly one of the natural wonders of the undersea world, and I am privileged to view it firsthand.

·      Other related accomplishments and activities:

o   Successfully planned a trip to Portland in July and have made progress toward planning trips to Mexico and possibly the South Pacific (fingers crossed!) later this year – just putting these ideas actually into motion by acting (rather than just letting them roll around in my head), was gratifying.  And planning a trip to San Francisco (one of my favorite U.S. cities) popped up on the last day of the month too!

o   Opened two new credit cards with significant mileage bonuses – I’m not planning to play frequent traveler points and miles game to the hilt.  But why not get a few thousand miles here and there when they make it so darn easy?

o   Promoted the dive trip I am leading to the British Virgin Islands in November – the boat is half full – please join me!

o   Renewed my Gold status with American Airlines  - considering how often I travel with them, benefits such as priority access to seating, shorter lines, no baggage fees, etc, etc, etc are worth it.

o   Re-subscribed to two magazines:  Caribbean Travel & Life, and AFAR – I know both will continue to inspire me to pursue this passion in a significant way.  I would like to write and submit a story about the Grouper Moon project for one of these magazines (or another appropriate one) in the coming month.

o   Commented on 15 other blogs out there (rather than my goal of 29 - one for each day of the month) – not actually sure why I just wasn’t motivated enough, but I will continue doing this AND also start including this website to actually grow some traffic eventually…still learning at all this, hmmm.

Question:  What does traveling mean to you, and why do you go where you go?

Challenge #7, January 2012: WRITING AWAY

I will write for myself  for at least 30 minutes a day (on average) AND I will launch my blog about this project by the end of the month!

"Planning to write is not writing. Outlining…researching…talking to people about what you're doing, none of that is writing. Writing is writing." -E.L. Doctorow

Why

Tap Tap Tapping away right now, or rather write now – putting in the time and rediscovering my love for creating and expressing some of my numerous thoughts through writing, it has been way too long since I have done this regularly.  The process has only been sporadic in the past several years, either through occasional entries in a stream of consciousness journal, or a poem here or there, or a letter to a friend or family member.   I miss the regular weekly rhythm of having an assignment due for the creative writing classes I took over ten years ago – I still enjoy rereading some of the stories and pieces I came up with during that time.  My writing lately is mostly limited to work related pieces -grant writing or reporting, emailing, etc, which I do for a living now.

So this month’s challenge has dual purposes – arguably most importantly to get me off my procrastinating butt and get this darn blog that I have been whispering occasionally about for months (to a small and encouraging audience) AND to just get me back in the groove of writing in general.  I do really enjoy the process of creating and writing and editing, but it has been a challenge forcing my way past the block and drudging through the swamp-o-fear (what if no one reads it, what if anyone, someone reads it?  what if they don’t like it and comment on it, what if no one ever comments?  what if I put something up there with a typo or a grammatical error?  what if…dozens of other scenarios arise, and as you might imagine, it can be a frightening swamp indeed).  But what if I actually just keep tap tap tapping, then start up up uploading – well, here goes.

Now I'm at the end of month and here’s where we’re (yes, you are now with me in this, if you have read this far!) at: 

• I have been writing AN AVERAGE of 30+ minutes a day, but not 30 minutes EACH day, as I originally envisioned this month.  Some days I just don’t feel inspired or my brain isn’t fired (up) or I’m just tired.  Writing more days that not writing overall though, so that it is somewhat of a habit now.  I read somewhere where you shouldn’t go more than two days without exercising if you want to make it a habit – good advice for writers too I believe.

• Some days have been much easier than others – there is such a variety in my writing moods and attention spans, does this happen to other folks as well?  It must.

• The best things I wrote (at least what I felt best about writing) were 1) a poem that literally poured out of my heart so fast and furious that it was all I could do to gather all the gushing to assemble it on the page somewhat sensibly and 2) a letter to the editor of my local paper on an issue that I am oddly attached to – the new plastic bag ban in our fair city, had to support it in a meaningful way.

• The worst things I wrote were the ramblings in my non-inspired, non-motivated, non-writerly rants on how I am not really in the mood, don’t have anything to say, etc etc.  BUT actually even out of those came a few new ideas that I got down for future use, so yes it was worth it to stick to the full 30 minutes once I got going.

What I learned

Whew I have got a long way to go before attempting to become a Full Time Writer of any sort!  And is that what I want, I don’t really think so.  There are so many interests love to explore, but I just want to get better overall at expression through writing, which I know will be beneficial no matter what I am doing 5 years or 10 years or 25 years from now.  I just know I enjoy it and it is a craft that takes deep practice, focus, and incredible attention.  I appreciate all the novelists, journalists, and bloggers out there even more so after going through it on a much smaller scale this month.  I will keep up with it - after all I now have this blog to write, and maybe even a few readers (hopefully!) to be accountable to...

INTERMISSION

As of December 31, 2011 I am now 20% of the way into this project, so I wanted to pause and take a peak backwards.  Just five quick insights:

• Habits can become easier to stick with after 30 days, but for me some will take longer, and/or revisiting to become more permanent – the calorie counting and exercising for example. 
  I actually did a 5 day Power Challenge last week – combining no alcohol, 1500 calories a day, working out 30 minutes a day, AND my current challenge of writing for 30 minutes – keeping track of all this took more focus, but was quite manageable (and I lost those few pounds that had crept back on).

• I do feel like I am taking a more disciplined, organized approach to most aspects of my life now – and am consciously trying to optimize my actions and behaviors, and this makes me feel less stressed and happier overall.

• Speaking of happy, around New Years I read The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin.  It is a very well organized and researched book, with different challenges and themes each month aimed at the study of creating more happiness in our daily lives.  I didn’t know the book or her blog existed when I started this project, but am now even further inspired for what I am doing here. 

• I have decided on my next 6 months of challenges, which I am truly excited about and look forward to undertaking with even more enthusiasm than the previous ones – I hope you’ll stay tuned, there are a few fun ones to come!