Unlock Your Imagination – Photo Essay

Bound by commitments of time, what we know, the physical, and the social, we bump into invisible barricades, most of them created by our imagination. Traveling unlocks these shackles and we leave them hanging on the concrete walls of our lives. We experience a new kind of freedom. Our boundaries expand.

Overwhelmed by choices, we fill our time with adventure. Our senses soak up the vibrant colors and patterns while we inhale the delicate and sweet, the acrid and the pungent. Days blend with the sounds of busy city life to seagulls calling from above the crashing ocean. This new place responds to our touch and we rush to what it has to offer.

We continue to an island where the ocean breathes around us. We are bound by its enormity and yet the sky holds no limitations. I sit in peace while listening to my heartbeat. No schedules, only sun and sand and surf. And still the clock ticks.

Time continues to diminish and our remaining freedom binds us. The last day is spent in a frenzy of activity. We try to slow it down and become aware of each moment. We capture the slant of the sun, the whispering of the wind, the laughter of a child and cradle them in our memories for the days to come.

Soon we are back at home shackled once again, but our boundaries provide structure for our lives. Somehow these exotic locations have warped our walls and have changed the way we see the landscape. We remember those fleeting days when time stretched out and familiar boundaries disappeared as we absorbed the new. Somehow, it became a part of us.

This is a response to the Weekly Photo Challenge – Boundaries.

Do you see your world differently after a vacation? What boundaries keep you from escaping more often? Where would you like to travel?

Related posts: 

Played by Inspiration

A Glimmer of Gold – Photo Essay