Beginnings...

Originally uploaded by Alexandra Lord

It is those beginning steps that are the hardest. You have a dream, maybe a plan but it is taking those first steps to start you on your way that are like moving through water. For a while I’ve been dreaming and hoping to be able to do more traveling. I thought it would come sooner than it did but also later than it has. I’ve had dreams, plans and ideas for years now. Always wanting but never doing. Often imagining but never creating.

Finally, I have taken that next step on life’s road. I have an inkling that it is bound to feel like getting into a cold swimming pool and tentatively walking down each step only to find that the next step is not where you thought and you slip hard and fast into the chill. It is surprising but also refreshing. Plus, after your whole body is immersed, you stop noticing how cold one part of you is and, instead, begin to focus on moving to warm up.

In less than five months I won’t be here, I’ll be there. Chengdu, Sichuan, China.