I think it was a scene from the English Patient, or some other really sad movie, where you see a row of tiny black dots slowly moving across a desert. Then the camera zooms in, and you see the shadows grow, and you realize it’s a caravan of camels, trudging along an unseen path. There’s perhaps some really dramatic foreign music playing in the background, and a sense of vulnerability rises inside. Nothing reminds one of the fragility of humanity than the cruelty of nature.
I guess that’s why I’ve always wanted a photo like this, one where I’m a part of that scene. Although, it was quite difficult to get a photo without other people, and all the camel foot prints from the tourists who came before us. It was hard to even crop the picture to not see the city in the background.
I guess that’s really the extent of my adventure seeking, whether it’s the mountains or the desert or the sea. I just want to be close enough where I can almost taste the excitement, but not actually experiencing the harshness and danger. I admire the true adventurers, but I don’t envy them. There’s plenty of other less adrenaline rushing experiences in life still worth experiencing. I’m sure I’ll have regrets in life, people I didn’t get to spend more time with, things I didn’t get to do. But I doubt that I’ll spend my last moments wondering about what it would have been had I ventured further into the desert, or deeper into the sea, or higher up that mountain.
I sometimes struggle with the balance between seeking excitement and being content. Finding contentment in an ordinary day can sometimes seem too mundane. I feel like I’m not trying hard enough, and not getting the most out of life. Yet if I spent all my time planning the next adventure, I’ll also miss out on the simpler joys that don’t take much effort to obtain. At the end of the day, life is perhaps a forever struggle between choices, and for the moment, the mundane side seems to be winning for me.
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