Recollections, reviews, discoveries, and future plans.
Add to your legacy everyday by setting and accomplishing your goals. We're all writing our own autobiographies whether it be on paper or through conversations and activities. The question is . . . will your tale be exciting or mundane when it's told?
Thank you Gage Golightly for the notebook, it accompanies me on all my travels.
Director Amon Barker grew up exploring the mountains, valleys, and deserts of New Mexico and developed a passion for the outdoors. He was drawn to photography in order to share his experiences with the landscape. Along the way he met others with a similar connection to the environment even when living very different lives. When we came up with the concept for the Human Nature short it was very simple. We wanted to create powerful images of the natural world that would remind viewers of their connection to the land and it's personal meaning to them. We hit the road on a series of production road trips and the story of the edit unfolded through our journey. None of us will forgot the moments along the way. View more by visiting: www.apresvisuals.com License our work at:
https://app.nimia.com/profile/apresvisuals/ Full Credits Director: Amon Barker Production: Après Visuals, Amon Barker, Karissa Tuthill Cinematography: Amon Barker, Tim Barker, Brian Morrison Talent: Demi Petersen Editor: Amon Barker Original Music: Madelaine German, Adam Schmidt Sound Design: Scotty Beam, Cleod9 Music Titles: Eric Bucy, Kailey Tuthill, Scott Sutton
I thought this was pretty awesome.
Often times when we’re surrounded by other people, we’re expending a lot of energy. Trying to keep others happy, make them laugh, soothe their egos, read their emotions, and all of the other rigors that come along with regular interaction.
It can be mentally draining if you’re constantly connected to other people. A little alone time lets you recharge and take a break from the emotionally and mentally taxing job of constant interaction.
Your life is always moving at a crazy fast pace. So fast in fact, that it’s probably rare when you have a moment alone to sit and reflect on your life.
Being alone gives you the perfect opportunity for a little self reflection. Since you aren’t spending so much time processing the thoughts and feelings of others, it’s the best time to turn your focus inwards.
Solitude provides the perfect environment for reflection.
Again, when you’re surrounded by other people all the time, you’re constantly trying to read, and cater to, the other persons’s emotions. So much so, that you could end up losing touch with your own.
When you start to enjoy being alone, you’ll gain a greater perspective for your own emotions. You’ll create a deeper understanding of what makes you happy, what upsets you, and what saddens you.
With that knowledge, it’s then easier to regulate your emotions. But it all starts with understanding how you feel, and that comes from a little bit of solitude.
When you’re constantly in the company of other people, you’re always making compromises in order to find solutions that the entire group can enjoy. And unfortunately, the things you want most, may not always line up with what the group wants.
So it’s easy to enjoy being alone once you realize that doing so gives you more freedom to do the things you actually want to do.
Being in the company of other people can be fun and entertaining, but it can also seriously affect your productivity. There are times when the company of other people acts as nothing more than a distraction from getting your work done.
Time spent alone can be some of the most productive time in your life—mostly because there are less distractions, and you can just put your head down and get to work.
When you spend time alone on a regular basis, and eventually start to enjoy being alone, you’ll come to find that you also enjoy your relationships with other people even more.
And that’s because the time spent alone gives you a greater appreciation for yourself.
But it also let’s you appreciate all the great things that come from your relationships with other people, most of which you were oblivious to before.
Once you enjoy being alone, you’ll feel more confident in your ability to actually be alone. And that naturally leads to you feeling more independent.
You’ll no longer feel that anxiety, or burning desire for company, once you learn to enjoy being alone. You won’t feel the need for constant interaction with other people, or the anxiety associated with looking around and seeing no one but yourself.
Life is filled with relationships, and most relationships only last when both people are kept happy. And that can turn into a draining job depending who that relationship is with. Now, this does’t only apply to personal relationships, but every kind of relationship.
Once you’re alone, the only person’s happiness you have to worry about in that moment, is your own. You can treat yourself to thing that makes you happy, but may have upset someone else.
When you start to enjoy being alone, you’ll quickly see that solitude means you don’t have to keep apologizing for what you’ve done. So often, we do things that end up upsetting other people, or hurting someone else’s feelings, and then have to quickly apologize for it.
But when you’re alone, you don’t have to apologize for anything. And that takes a lot of pressure out of most situations. You get to stop second guessing everything you say, or every move you make because you’re afraid someone is going to be offended, or saddened, and angered.
So often we feel we the need to get the “OK” from our friends and family before we take action. We constantly look to other people for advice on what we should do next.
Of course, there are times where it’s not only perfectly acceptable to ask for advice, but downright necessary. But there are also times where we’re perfectly capable of acting on our own, be we instead of looking to others for an answer.
When you start to spend more time alone, you’ll learn to trust your instincts and make decisions without any third party validation.
This was taken about two weeks ago while I was traveling through the highlands of Scotland. I stopped at Loch Ness for the night and took this photo just after the sun had fallen behind the hills to the southwest. Urquhart Castle was built in the 1100s and changed hands many times through out its history.
Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness in Scotland
This is a photo of the Kjalvegur Road / Kjölur Route in Iceland which I shot using my Nikon D7000 a few weeks ago while my buddy Chris (@chrislovesadventure) and I were exploring the interior of the country. This route, sometimes referred to as the "Ghost Road," used to be the main road used by vikings to travel between the north and south of Iceland. Some legends say the Knights Templar hid the holy grail somewhere along the route . . . Before embarking on this journey it was highly recommend that we rent a vehicle with 4 wheel drive so we opted for a Toyota Land Cruiser which we picked up from Hertz Iceland. With a trusty map and compass in hand, we set out to circle the island. Once we made it back to Reykjavik we still had a bit of time left on the rental so we decided to check out this highland road through the interior. The route starts just after the massive Gullfoss waterfall and continues on to the Ringroad near Varmahliöand and passes between the Hofsjökull and Langjökull Glaciers (Temple Glacier and Long Glacier).
Some other sites to see along the way are Þingvellir, Gullfoss, Geysir, and Hvítárvatn.
After so many years wondering what kind of person you were going to become one day, somewhere you forgot that this question actually has an answer, and that 'one day' will eventually arrive. If it hasn't already.
THE DICTIONARY OF OBSCURE SORROWS http://www.dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com
The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows is a compendium of invented words written by John Koenig.
While you're in it, life seems epic. Fiery, tenuous, and unpredictable. But once you have some distance from it, everything seems to shrink, until it's almost out of focus. So you begin scanning your life looking for something interesting or beautiful.
I've spent a lot of time in Buenos Aires over the past few years, this video by Willie Leniek captures the city well.
Las primeras imagenes de Buenos Aires desde el Inspire1. Mariano Cabrera - Piloto Musica - Montserrat (Orquesta del Plata) Bajofondo Tango Club (usada sin permiso previo). The first images to come out of the new Inspire1. Mariano Cabrera - Pilot Music - Montserrat (Orquesta del Plata ) Bajofondo Tango Club (used without permission) .
I had the good fortune of being exposed to numerous cultures and countless history lessons while growing up, and because of this, I think I was given the opportunity to see the world from many different perspectives. Now in my 30s, I continue to travel and expose myself to as much of the world as I can. Whether it's close to home or in the middle of nowhere in a remote corner of the planet, there are cultures and traditions worth experiencing and memories waiting to be born.
Colonia, Uruguay
When you first embark on a quest, whether it's one of curiosity or one of travel, you start to notice that there are two different breeds of people. The first of the two consists of those that like to stay close to home and are either afraid of or have no desire to experience the world beyond what they've become accustomed to. They stay within their bubble and if they do happen to venture out, they appear uncomfortable and remain tethered to home in one form or another. If and when they travel, they tend to stick to all the typical sites found in a travel guide and never venture out to experience real local culture. If they're in New York they'll visit the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Big Ben in London, etc . . . and they'll eat at major chain restaurants which they probably frequent back home. This is an extremely boring way to travel and see the world, yet when these people return to their homes they will speak of their experience as if it were really exciting, while recommending the same trip to everyone they talk to. The reality behind this kind of travel and this breed of individual is that they really aren't trying to learn anything new because they lack true curiosity and have no interest in experiencing local life. They enjoy telling people where they've been, even though in most cases they know nothing about those places. Instead of exposing themselves to new experiences, they bring what they know with them on their journey and return home as the same uninteresting person they were when they first set out.
The Narrows | Zion National Park
The other breed consists of the more adventurous types. This doesn't mean they're roaming around the globe seeking near death experiences, this just means they're comfortable being uncomfortable and willing to immerse themselves in whatever it is they're doing. If they travel somewhere new, even if only for a day, they live there for that day. They don't visit a place, they make it their home for the duration. People of this breed make new lifelong friends wherever they go. When I cross paths with one of these individuals I immediately notice something different, yet familiar. It's as if we both were part of the same fraternity or grew up in the same town. Although we may have never met before, we feel an instant connection. The reason for this is because we're both part of what I'll call the Global Society. People that are members instantly recognize each other without saying a word. Even though we may have spawned from different corners of the globe, our roots are embedded everywhere. Some people that are part of this worldwide club may have never traveled a day in their life, but they possess an inquisitive nature and desire that expands their horizon beyond where the sun sets. It's always refreshing to stumble upon such individuals and share stories while at the same time adding another chapter to your own captivating autobiography. When parting ways you both feel like you've learned something new and know that you've made a friend for life, a friend that will most likely relate to you more than most of the friends you grew up with. The Global Society is the closest thing you'll find to a utopia, it's a place where race, religion, and politics have no relevance.
Mendenhall Glacier | Alaska
Members of the Global Society are some of the wealthiest people you'll ever meet, regardless of the monetary value of all their assets or what they have in the bank. These individuals are a wealth of knowledge and experience. These people keep you humble and modest and constantly remind you to ditch the blinders and look at the world with eyes wide open.
