We all live such different lives and the way we spend our time is very valuable to us all. We have made choices which have led us to where we are today, personal choices that have brought us to this exact point in our lives.

Where are you now?

What has your journey been like?

Is this where you envisaged you would be?

I have always known from a young age that I wanted to get away from my home, to escape, to roam. That urge grew and grew in me and turned into a passion for travelling. With that came the opportunity to really open my eyes to the world around me, instead of just looking at a book (yeah no internet when I was growing up) and imaging and reading about what was happening in different countries, I would get to go there and experience first hand what our beautiful world was like.

And I am happy to say that I did just that and it is something that I continue to do.

Image Source:http://lacgeographic.com/montes-azules-biosphere-reserve-mexico

With my love for the natural world, I was blown away by the beauty I saw in each country I visited. I remember the first Jungle I visited, It was Palanque In Mexico, I got a bus from the town early morning to go see the Maya ruins. When I got there it was still early morning and there was a mist in the jungle, walking through that forest to get to the ruins I suddenly heard a chorus of Howler Monkeys. Then I came apon a small Clearing and a sight that took my breathe away, I had to sit down to take it all in. I was so overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of the jungle and the sound and sight of the monkeys. This to me was what life was about, moments just like this.

But with the wonder came the realization that the life that we as humans have created is not quite what it seems. That in order to keep the world progressing in the way that our forefathers started, we had to abandon our dreams and conform in order to keep the wheels of the industrial world well oiled and turning. That what we were being forced fed are some one else's ideals and dreams.

At the centre of the world for humans is the cities, is the areas where most production takes place and with it the most deception. Here is where there is a hub of activity, of creativity, but here is also where so many are isolated and alone. It is a place of extremes, on the one hand captivating in what it has to offer, but on the other side serving up poverty and violence.

Image Source:http://www.unitar.org/diversity-cities-first-expert-meeting-human-mobility

People feel a pull to this place, because it has so much, it is bursting with life and creative arts, it is the pulsating heart for some. But not for me, I have lived in the city, I have experienced what it has to offer and I felt like it sucked me in and took a part of me with it. The only outlet I found was in partying and trying to create that feeling I first experienced in that jungle in Mexico. But I was chasing a sythentic version that just doesnot compare to the real thing.

For me the natural world has it all, so to the edges I went, to the place I belonged. I do not feel at home in a city, it could not give me what I wanted. I want to wake each day and walk barefoot on the earth, to recharge my body and reconnect. To me the edge is somewhere that is home for those who do not wish to conform, who do not fit into this ideal that we have been told is ours. Yes at times it can be hard living at the edge, for one you have to do a lot more physical work in order to live. There are no easy convienences in store. You want heat, you chop your wood, you want fresh food, you forage or grow your own.

But that is exactly the way I like it. I like washing myself in rivers and streams, I like that I have to handwash my clothes at times. It really makes me appreciate water. I do not take it for granted, nobody should. Where I am now I have a tap, before that I collected and carried water ever time I wanted to wash. I am grateful for the tap, but I do miss the mission in getting and sourcing water. I really do find my joy in the simple things.

To me the edge of Nature is diverse and full of life, look at banks of rivers and sides of forests, this is somewhere where we get to see a lot of diversity. I like the idea of living on the edge of Society, it is where I belong. I do not wish to be part of something I do not agree with. I will visit sometimes, dip my feet in, maybe paddle around for a little bit, but I wil always return to the Edge.

What About You, do you live on the Edge?

Big Big Thank You To @byn for designing my logo.