Tag: weekly photo challenge

Silencio

There are only a few things in life that silence you by their sheer magnitude. Without a doubt, nature is one of them. When my friend offered to take me to the Beacon Rock in Stevenson, I was thrilled, excited, and nervous all at the same time. And as it is with these emotions, I chatted away all the way up, eager to reach the peak. My patient friend with his experience in hiking with enthusiastic first timers, offered me advice and great conversation throughout the hike. When at last we reached the top, this sight descended upon me knocking my voice out of my throat. For much longer than a few minutes, we stood atop the rock looking down at the marvellousness that’s the Gorge of Columbia River. Despite the devastating loss it’d undergone mere weeks ago, the river flowed along serene as ever.

Beacon Rock State Park, Stevenson

As time goes by

Nature has a weird way of beating itself up. But even though it’s sad when natural beauty and light depletes, there’s nothing pathetic about it. It’s the way of life—a default course of action. Artificial things, however, are prone to deterioration faster and in an uglier fashion than nature. It’s when you see them side by side that you notice how time and surroundings weathers both natural and man-made phenomena.

This is a photo of the Narrows Bridge Memorial Park in Tacoma, Washington. I was on a train from Portland to Seattle when I saw this massive old structure still standing, yet worn with age.

Narrows Bridge Memorial Park, Tacoma, WA

Budding

Growth comes to all in different ways. For some it comes in spurts while for some others it comes in a slow, agonising manner. Regardless of how we grow and evolve in our personal and professional lives, one thing remains the same: nature gives us all what it takes to become bigger and better. For a tree, she gives sunshine, soil, and water. For us, she gives the trees. Looking up at the expanse of branches over my head, I felt assured—I knew my time would come just as it did for that tree.

growth.jpeg

The best of all

The best thing about 2017 is that I had a lot of new experiences. I had the opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and find new zones I’m comfortable with. Thanks to an official trip, I managed a week of personal travel. It was the best of all that happened to me this year. It taught me a side of myself I didn’t know I had. It taught me to plan, to organise, and to communicate with other people. It gave me survival skills, nurtured my negotiating skills, and taught me the true value of good companionship. Travelling solo left me craving more.

Travelling solo

 

Climb every mountain

The city of San Francisco, didn’t have a great first impression on me. But it did do better the more I looked around. Within hours I had gone from feeling alienated to feeling elated. One of the many things that surprised me was that the city was built on a hill. It seems trivial in hindsight, but when I discovered it ascending a steep slope, it was as if the city was challenging me—a challenge I was eager to take on.

San Francisco