The inbetweens

Image: Stephen Edmonds

I’m feeling a wonderful sense of excited anticipation. I’ve been given a writer’s residency on Bruny Island, in the deep south of Tasmania. With little idea what treasure it holds in store, it’s an open door I can’t wait to step through. I’m feeling a bit like Lucy, in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, crossing the threshold with no idea what lies beyond.
 
I’m packing my thermals because its bound to be chilly, and walking boots and sunscreen, along with my writer’s tools, because I’m far more creative sitting on a rock on a beach or in the bush, than chained to a desk. But most of all I want to take along abundant curiosity, a sense of adventure and an open and inquiring mind, because to a large extent this adventure will be what I make it.
 
But that’s true of all of life isn’t it? We can walk the safe and comfortable road and I’ve done my fair share of that over the years, or explore and discover along the verges and unmade paths beyond the horizon. That takes courage but the rewards are priceless.

Image: Luke Mitchell Cooper

​I love the work of the late Peter Dombrovskis, a photographer who journeyed out into the wild areas of Tasmania where few people venture, to share with the world a snapshot of the Australia few people will ever get to see. It’s a hidden world of incredible beauty along the remote and inaccessible paths and he captured it with outstanding clarity.
 
One man, willing to step out into the unknown, has inspired millions of people around the world. 
 
He challenges me to realise that we all have that capacity, to push the boundaries and explore the unknown in whatever form it presents to us. To discover what every moment holds, not living for the main events but embracing the in-betweens as filled with just as much treasure.

I’ve had occasion to fly a few times lately and realise that I have a tendency to see the time in-between take off and landing as an inconvenient prelude to getting to my destination and its a pretty accurate picture of so much of our lives. If you're like me, you have a tendency to always be thinking, planning and preparing for the next 'thing'.
 
But there are more in-between times in life than there are main events, at least that’s true in my life. What a lot of opportunities we waste preparing for the next occasion and missing all the gold buried in-between, in the pauses and the nondescript moments of every day.

As I head out to discover whatever lies ahead for me on this adventure, I'm taking this opportunity to have a blogging break. The last few months there has been little time in my life for creativity and I'm feeing dry and empty because creativity is a huge part of who I am, how I'm wired. This trip seems a God-given gift to restoke my passion for nature and life, and to fan the flames of inspiration. So there will be no blog for the next few weeks but I hope I come back with fresh new insights and lots of reflections and great photos to share.
 
In the meantime, grab hold of all those in-between moments and find the joy, wonder and possibilities they hold.