“I saw in their eyes something I was to see over and over in every part of the nation- a burning desire to go, to move, to get under way, anyplace, away from any Here. They spoke quietly of how they wanted to go someday, to move about, free and unanchored, not toward something but away from something. I saw this look and heard this yearning everywhere in every states I visited.
Nearly every American hungers to move.”
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| View towards San Francisco from Berkeley |
This week was John Steinbeck's birthday (February 27th). I always think of him when I drive through Salinas on the 101 between northern and southern California and what his life must have been like; what influenced him and drove him to write. California was the setting for many of his stories, and the environment always played a large part as a character in and of itself. Migrants were a common theme for him, along with the forces of movement and change.
Lately, I have felt somewhat stagnant in my own life, which has never been a feeling I've been comfortable with. Personally, I have had to remind myself that I am still capable of moving, of wandering, even in the face of routine. It's hard not to move; to feel separate from the sun and then fresh air and the wind and the rain. The memoir I'm reading now (The Great Floodgates of the Wonderworld by Justin Hocking), touches upon a lot of these themes of nature, balance, movement, and finding a place in the world, much more eloquently than I am able to, and it has been incredible timing to discover this book.
I hope these photos inspire you to move a bit more as well and explore your own environment, wherever that may be.
Ultimately for me, I think it's much harder but perhaps even more important, to find peace in where I am.
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| Overlooking Rodeo Beach |
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| Tennessee Valley |
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| Sailboat in the Afternoon, Santa Cruz |
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| Mystery Spot, Santa Cruz |
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| Berkeley Sunset After the Storm |
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| Sweet good night |
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