In love with the destination, not the journey

I asked around + did something I've wanted to do for 5 years

Hey Friends Near and Far (or FNFs, should I say…?),

Do you have a list—and I’m pretty sure you do—of things you desperately want to do or try, but never actually get around to doing? My list is so long that it almost doesn’t fit in my mind.

The idea for this post finally pushed me to take action on something I’ve dreamt of for the past five years.

Yesterday, an hour before midnight, I went to photograph one of my favorite routes near my hometown. I’ve biked this 20 km loop a couple of times and always marveled at the scenery.

I managed to take couple of publishable images for you to enjoy. They show the famous, soft, Nordic, Midsummer light perfectly.

Lupines are invasive species in Finland, but oh, how beautiful they are. We are encouraged to pick them before they seed. I encourage myself also to photograph them. 😁

Destination, not the journey

But the idea of wanting to do something but not actually doing it is an interesting one. There are many things that keep us from starting, but I dare say the biggest reason is staring back at us from the mirror.

No, no, no.

I’m not one of those people who say that anyone can do anything if they just put their mind to it.

No.

I’m one of those who knows that resources vary from day to day, depending on your health, wealth, and many other factors.

And I’m also one of those people who love to dream but am not much of a doer. I usually love the destination, not the journey. I’m a house mouse, who rarely feels FOMO, more often JOMO.*

But I know this much to be true: when I finally get around to it, when I make it happen, after lifting a finger, it feels so good!

(Of course, I wouldn’t be a working creative or an artist if I didn’t love my job, the doing. Honestly, there are many other ways to make money more easily. But I’m at my best when I get to dream about the things I could do.)

This was actually my first stop. I love how the house appears from behind the trees.

This scenery was my number one reason to hit the road. Even my 3-year-old son adored this house the other day!

I asked around

This is my first post where I asked around.

I’d love to base more of my writing around YOU, and in that way, connect us to one another. (Hence the previous name of this publication “How We Once Lived”. But in

Sarah Fay

’s Substack Cohort I learned that it gave people the impression that it was a publication about historic facts. So at the moment, I’m between names.)

So, please, leave a comment under this post (on Substack) and share, what things you’d love to do but never get around to doing?

Timothy, Timothy, oh how I love thee.

In IG Threads the Finnish author Eevi Kuokkanen told me she’d love to sew herself the most perfect Baroque outfit. And what about Vanessa Seppä, who reveals her dream of learning traditional Finnish social dancing (lavatanssi)? There is no better time than summer to learn this, with live music and a few mosquitos…

I also loved hearing about the someday-maybes of my Substack community.

Vidal Ramirez

said, they’ve always seen themselves as a painter or a writer.

Spooky with Izel

has many relatable dreams, and oh, how I love their simplicity.

Izel would love to watch sunrise and sunset at a beach, to lie on a meadow for hours alone, gaze at stars, have a cat or a farm, read a book with a coffee in a London café on a rainy day, and lastly, own a book cafe.

Penny Harrison

dreams about learning to take better photos, up-cycle furniture and to be able to sketch and paint. She ends her note by saying: “One day, one fine day…”

And I hope that’s true for all of us with our dreams… But as John C. Maxwell puts it: “Dreams don’t work unless we do.”

At this point I realized the route wasn’t that special photography wise.

I have a soft spot for mailboxes.

So, why not, then?

What’s holding us back? Why can’t we all be more like Walt, who appeared in Nike’s first Just Do It commercial in 1988?

When the ad was released, Walt Stack was 80 years old and ran 17 miles (~27 kms 😳) every day. When people asked him how he kept his teeth from chattering in the winter, he joked that he left them at his locker. What a sense of humor!

Be more like Walt. Let’s be.

Here you can see how soft that midnight light is. I photographed this through some hays.

It doesn’t have to be a full Baroque outfit or setting up a book café. But how about sewing a Baroque headpiece or organizing a pop-up book café? (I might actually do that!)

What is the smallest thing you can do to get you started TODAY?

We often let our need for perfection or impatience get in the way of starting. We forget that everything big was once small.

I knew I couldn't bike 20 km with my camera at 11 pm. My life as a business owner and a parent (3-year-olds, phew, the intensity!) is pretty hectic, and by the time my kiddo is asleep, I'm ready to hit the sack myself.

My smallest step was deciding to write about this. To jump in the car. To drive and stop only a few times to create.

The journey wasn't as pleasant as I’d hoped, and there weren’t as many photo opportunities as I expected, but such is life. Sometimes the idea is better than the execution, and that’s okay.

It's okay to focus on the destination at times.

Maybe you need to buy clay for pottery, take a more intentional photo walk, or simply Google nearby choirs. The first step might pave the way more easily than we realize.

Ultimately, we don’t have to live life to the fullest, but perhaps that first step can lead to a fuller life.

Now, what action will you take to cross one thing off your list of someday-maybes?

Until next time, FNF!

-Nani

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*FOMO, Fear Of Missing Out; JOMO, Joy Of Missing Out