Maybe I’m here because of a broken heart. Or maybe I’m here in spite of one.
Maybe I’m here to find myself. Or maybe I’m here to lose myself.
Maybe I’m here for the quietude. Or maybe I’m here to have the rapids drown out the silence.
Maybe I’m here to feel free. Or maybe I’m here to confine myself to a goal.
Maybe I’m here to confront the unknown. Or maybe I’m here to confront the obstacles I’m already carrying.
There are lots of reasons I’m here, and lots of reasons I’m sure I’ll find.
All photos: Hannah Green
I sit in a motel room on the edge of the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Gear is scattered about the room as I pack for a big hike down into the big ditch. I’m nervous. The sound of the heater fills the room and an occasional car whooshes by outside. I play some music to quiet my anxious brain. I think of all the wanderers who have likely sat in this room, on the eve of their own big adventures.
I’ve sifted through the dumpster and finally found it. My heart. Where it was tossed away some time ago. It’s still beating, but quite weak. It needs some sun, some fresh air, and it needs to get pumping again. And it is here, in the depths of the Grand Canyon, that I hope to make it strong again.
The time has come and I have to get going. It’s a long way to Pearce Ferry from here, but however far I make it, I am sure to learn something. That’s why we’re here. To learn something about ourselves and about a place that feels like a part of us. Here goes everything.
Call for Comments
- When you go on a great adventure, what are your reasons?
- Do you feel like you need a reason, or do you find it along the way?
