“One only understands the things that one tames,” said the fox. “Men have no more time to understand anything. They buy things all ready made at the shops. But there is no shop anywhere where one can buy friendship, and so men have no friends anymore. If you want a friend, tame me…”
–  Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

Officially on the go – I am traveling down the earth to collect sunsets like The Little Prince, taming that fox inside of me, sitting down a little closer, every day.

Calm water, that’s January in Miami. Every moment counts, I say. It took me two years and a bit more to get on this trip: a six-month backpacking trip across South America. Miami is a soft starting point before it all begins (because it was the cheapest way to fly).

Two years ago I had the impulse to take off. Two years later I followed up, gave up my job, a stable income, a home, a car, two dear cats, too many books, too many shoes, too many closets, too many comforts, and too many responsibilities. I packed up everything and walked away with “only” a sixty liter Gregory backpack and a carry-on.

It was not easy to leave, not easy at all. At age 29, my health wasn’t in a good state, my finances were always challenging, and my cats were the loveliest strings that attached me to an established North American life where I was driven by endless routines, ambitious material desires, and pathetic first world problems.

I had to go because that wasn’t who I envisioned myself to be. I anticipated a tremendous turning point in life that’ll shape me into my ideal self, yet there were no ideal elements in that comfortable life of mine. I needed to practice a physical pursuit to see my vision coming true, to walk across a continent mapping out my very wild heart geographically. That very desire of leaving my comfort zone, exposing myself in the unknown, living with little belongings and writing my breaths away was so vivid, so lucid, that very fantasy of my wild pursuit casts me to be right here, right now.

Every moment counts, I say. I arrived in Miami after a total of seven-hour flight with a two-hour overlay in between, on top of that there were ten years of financial struggle, two years of hesitation, one year of saving up, six month of physical pain and a lifetime long of insecurity and fear. Still, I am here now. I am here witnessing my moment of stillness, witnessing life happening because I took actions, big or small, good or bad, painful or liberating, every single one of those actions contributed to this moment of stillness.

So I say, if you ever find stillness in any moment of your life, that moment is the sum of all the previous moments in life. This instant of stillness contains every decision you’ve ever made, every bridge you’ve ever crossed and every person you’ve ever loved and allowed into your life. Be proud and be very proud of yourself, because we both know that life is a grand masterpiece of your very hard work. And if you could make it this time, you could make it every time.

Love always,
Ti