Clouds off the Japanese coast

Patterns up high
Somewhere over the North Pacific Ocean
May 2012
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Once upon a time, we ventured far from home, and tried to remember what it felt and looked like from the moment we set off to the moment we returned.

I captured this scene from a United Airlines 777-300ER over the North Pacific Ocean, somewhere near the Japanese coast, on my way back from a conference in Shanghai. We couldn’t see the coast, of course, but the undulating clouds told their own story, so out came the camera.

I share this not because I lament our relative inability to stray too far from home these days - please, let’s avoid whining about trivialities - but to remind myself that the very concept of travel need not always involve flying halfway around the world.

Sometimes a walk to the corner is just as likely to open our eyes wide to things we hadn’t yet imagined. And whether we’re headed near, far, or somewhere in between, all we have to do is take that first step outside the door to begin our journey.

What we see next is entirely up to us.

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