Sliding Doors

I want to start this VERY overdue post by saying what most of my friends and family already know, I do not believe in fate. There is zero part of me that can comprehend the existence of some sort of higher power directing all of our actions and life-altering decisions. I'd like to think that my choices, and subsequently - the outcomes of those choices, are mine and mine alone. However... that being said, I've started to think about how unbelievably strange the sequence of millions of moments that lead us to where we are right now are. Our lives are like flip books, made up of tons of tiny flashes that in whole, create our lives as we know it. Okay, I'm getting a bit carried away - aren't I?

For example, Patty and I recently got back from a trip to Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast, and the Gold Coast where we were visiting our Aussie friend, Corey. It’s crazy how a simple seat assignment on a 13 hour plane ride would result in 5 days of wakeboarding, hot tubing, tons of truth & dare Janga, and meeting some absolutely amazing people. As I said before, give a group of kids some wine and champagne and no matter what their nationality... they’re bound to wind up being friends. This first time however, it wasn’t outside of Beachcombers… but a billion feet in the air flying from L.A. to Auckland, NZ. There’s nothing like rope swinging into some pretty smelly water, having your first meat pie, and waking up in a penthouse overlooking the ocean that brings you together. That, and the hours of roadtripping listening to Aussie hip-hop. "Cocaine... propane..." What IS that song!?

Honestly, there’s really nothing I love more than meeting new people and getting to know what makes them different than anyone else I’ve ever met. I really do believe I fall in love a bit with every friend I make, as corny as that sounds. And that’s what this trip has really been about – meeting people and growing from all the experiences that they’ve had, and the ones that you have together. But I have a bone to pick with the universe. I’ve recently had to say my first good-bye (shout out Ken Davies) and that was nothing that I was remotely prepared for. Nobody ever warned me that the life of a traveler could be so tough at times! I guess I just never realized, or really thought, that I’d ever have to leave these incredible people at some point. It’s kind of like college where I just assumed everyone I loved would move to the same city and we’d be together forever. But this time it’s even harder, because it’s not just different States that we run off to… but different countries all together. As fantastic as my international web of people is becoming, I’m a bit heartbroken every time I realized that we will all eventually wind up where we started – apart.

There's a street in the CBD that has a "Living Wall". It's a particular side of a brick building that has tons of pieces of paper tied to bars on it's windows. On each piece of paper there's a message about someone in particular, or a general prayer for people, who have passed away. I think it's purpose is to keep these individuals alive by remembering them... and writing to/about them. If you think about it... each photograph we take, moment we jot down on paper, or image we have engrained in our minds are ways that we keep the friends we meet on our travels with us, always reachable. I know it's not really the same as The Living Wall, but there are some parallels in the importance of remembering people... and keeping them close to us.

All of this deep thinking I've been doing brings to mind two movies - “Serendipity” and “Sliding Doors”. Both of these really focus on all the little things in life that either bring us together – or pull us away from one another. Life is made up of all the actions we take, or the ones we decide against... and where we end up, who we end up with, and who we become are all thanks to those tiny choices. It makes my brain hurt a bit thinking about all the courses that my life could have taken. I couldn’t be happier about where I am right now, but don't you always wonder… what if?