If you had asked me a year ago if I thought that my ‘fate was sealed’, I probably would have answered ‘yes’.
I lived with my husband and our two dogs in a beautiful house with a large garden in rural Denmark. I worked part-time from home which gave me enough time to do the household and enjoy my hobbies (photography and painting). The days went by one after the other, there was a routine, an acceptance. Then came COVID and it forced us to think about our lives and what we wanted. When we finally got divorced to preserve our friendship it was not a surprise but it still took me a while to figure out what to do – suddenly everything was possible again.
But was I brave enough to try and turn fate into destiny? The answer is ‘yes’.
When my mother died some years ago, I had promised myself that at the end of my life I don’t want to say ‘I wish I had’ and this was one of those moments where I had to keep this promise. So I decided to start completely new. While I have no concrete long-term plans, I do have dreams, a vision and a goal. I will no longer accept that fate decides my life but instead I will create my own destiny.
Where that destiny will be and what it will look like – I don’t know (yet) – but nobody does.
What I do know is that I will celebrate every success along the way and that I will get up again whenever I fall. I will dance among the stars, howl together with the moon, smile brighter than the sun and cry in the rain…I will live my life.
Now I sit here in my van – which has become my home -, I look at the endless ocean and listen to the sound of the wind and the waves. My soul is filled with freedom and creativity. My future is an empty book of which I don’t even know the title but it is waiting to be filled with adventures and experiences, with ideas and thoughts, with photos, paintings and poetry.
This blog will be my 'journ(ey)al' - and so the story begins.
To say it with one of my favourite quotes:
'One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.'
- Friedrich Nietzsche
…and, oh boy, do I have plenty of chaos in myself…
Can’t wait to see what those empty pages fill with. I wish you an amazing creative journey and all the luck in the world.
If your journey brings you to the UK let me know as it would be great to catch up.
Thank you for sharing this blog. “suddenly everything was possible again”. Wow! And so the journey.story begins.. Wherever this journey takes you, know that there are those of us who are vicariously traveling with you and wishing you well, wishing you the best. I am looking forward to the next entries.
I am sure it will be a fantastic journ(ey)al, and I look forward to your next visit and to follow you here
What a spirit you have to completely change your life and start fresh. I think sometimes many of us wish to just do that. Start fresh and “do what I want”. While my husband and I are together we have no children. I picture as we retire we will both be able to do more of what we want without the restrictions of a work schedule. For me that is photography and for him golf and I encourage him to find another hobby as well. Maybe woodworking. Something so he doesn’t drive me insane over the winter. Lol. Blessings to you my friend and I can’t wait to see where the open road leads you. I love having my stick home but also envy your van.
Ich finde das großartig. “Es muss in Leben doch mehr als Alles geben”
Zumindest müssen wir doch herausfinden, was das Leben uns alles zu bieten hat 🙂
Such an inspiring philosophy Isabel. I hope you continue to write like this in your blog and to keep taking photographs that resonate with your words. I am looking forward to joining your RPS Scotland talk on 19th January. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and very Happy New Year when it comes.
Thank you so much I am already really nervous about the RPS talk
Incredible! Thank you for sharing your journey!
Good luck for your talk this evening. I am looking forward to seeing you talk about your fascinating images.
Thank you so much. I hope you enjoyed it. I was very nervous – I usually prefer to talk with people and not to my computer