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5.27.2009

go.

so often i stay. i stop. i get caught up in the everydayness of life. i do the same thing day-in, day-out. i shop the same aisles at trader joes. i eat the same thing for breakfast every morning. i pull clothes from the same section of my closet. while routine can be legit, helpful and comforting, at times it becomes a complete bore. lame, i tell you. i am tired of staying. i want to go. too.

it's kind of like my dog, bodie. "bodie, sit! lay down. and stay! good boy..." but all the while, that sweet pup was on the verge of leaping up and sprinting excitedly toward me with all his might. i could tell him to stay all i wanted, but at some point he would give-in and come over for some lovin' be it pets or a cookie. and i couldn't resist that sweet, puppy-dog face. or like when i'd play dummy with him. "sit. wait. wait.....GO! hunt it up!!!" and then he'd be off with the speed of a mongoosel. he'd trot back with an air of accomplishment about him and spit that slobbery, dirty thing at my feet and sit by my side waiting a chance to do it all over again. he loved it. the moment when i said, "where's your dummy? hunt it up," and he would instantly start FRAeaking out and getting all sorts of ecstatic over it, beating me with his tail on the way to the door. he loved it. the moment when he sat down beside me and anxiously watched the dummy sail throw the air it talking of him not to just starting running down the dirt road. the moment when he heard "go! hunt it up" and began sprinting down the hill. or the moment where he got to show you what he fetched as if you didn't already know what it was. he was a happy-dawg in those moments. and always, really. but he had to both stay and go. sit and run. wait and hunt it up. and he learned to be content doing either. i loved that about bodie. and i think i have something to learn from him though he may just be a dog, a pet that has a uncanny proclivity for contentedness, loyalty, and friendship.

i need to learn how to stay well, and go well. be content doing and not-doing. be at ease waiting and pursing.

but today, i want to learn how to go well. have y'all seen that movie "Yes Man?" (if you haven't, you should). but for those of you who have: remember the part of the film where Carl & Allison go to the airport and simply take the next flight available to wherever it may be? which just so happened to be to lincoln, nebraska. haha. not exactly a destination resort to be sure. but they had a blast. they went. they lived. they were spontaneous. i liked that. and as i watched, i found myself wanting to be more like them because i realize that so much of the sweetest moments in live are the unplanned, spontaneous ones. the random adventures. in the greasy spoons. or out on the road in the middle of nowhere.

i am tired of staying, sick of the routine. so i will go. not sure where i am going exactly. but i do crave an adventure. nothing grand or crazy, exotic or foreign, extravagant or expensive. nope. something simple, basic, easy. and with good friends of course. a road trip to unknown towns and across unfamiliar pavement. where time allows for the in between, the discovery, and the spontaneity i so desire. perhaps its the male in me. or the american in me. or the human in me. but i long to see new things, meet new people, create new memories. so i am going. soon. anyone care to join? where shall we go?

i'm serious.
for real.
stay tuned.

9 comments:

Johnathan Hayward said...

Though we don't know each other all that well, I do peruse your blog upon occasion. This entry echoes some of the very same thoughts I've had lately...the need to savor every moment of life, and not just get caught up in the routines. While I'm not a very spontaneous person by nature, I long to be more spontaneous...I think that would be a very good thing.

Blessings!

michelle ford said...

i'm still determined to get a group of photographers to head to the philippines at the end of the year (november about). come with!

shannon said...

I'm with Johnathan, I don't know you personally but just had to comment...you put into words what I have been feeling. I've been blaming it on Spring but it may just be the human in me. I want to go. I would give everything up but my family and camera right now just to get on the road, explore, and soak up this wonderful world! must be something in the water:)

may your adventure be grand! cant wait to hear about it!

j. shipley said...

johnathan, thanks for pursing from time to time. and for the blog-love. preciate it.

michelle, so tempting. keep me in the loop...

shannon, it is the human in you indeed. and the artist too i think :)

r. j. kern said...

if you find yourself in denver, i'll roll out the red carpet :)

Shannon Rae said...

There must be something in the air. I posted a facebook status a couple days ago that said

"Does anyone else ever get the urge to just pack up and move somewhere new? Just because? To try something new and discover something different and just...do something you haven't done before?"

I know exactly how you feel. And if you pick a destination I will take the train from LA and join you in Santa Barbara to go. Let me know :)

weird another shannon commented on this :)

julian moniz said...

Ummmm...I'm just going to be blunt...When we leaving?

Zak Landrum said...

Hey Jeff,
I'm getting "Chrismated" into the Orthodox Church this upcoming Saturday. I'll be at Church pretty much all weekend (chrismation service 10am Sat, Prayer Vigil 6pm Sat, Pentecost Service 9:30am Sun), but would love to hang out in the times I'm not in the Cathedral. I mean, who knows, it might be a strange and wonderful kind of retreat/"Other" experience you've been craving. Figure I'd throw out the invite, and challenge your "yes man" sense of things. :) Love the blog. Keep it goin'.

Gina Meola said...

Oh, Mr. Shipely... how I enjoy you.

Love the blog, photos, and your desire. for life.

xo