The Hidden Beauty In Everything

You may think it a morbid realisation for someone firmly set in the innocence of youth to accept his mortality, but that’s exactly what I did at a young age. This early acceptance of the eventuality of death, and the randomness by which it claims us, set me on a path of curiosity, universal awareness, and self discovery, that carried me through all the years of my life this far with a healthy hunger for psychology and philosophy.

I love nothing more than to learn about the mind, the psyche, people, and our place in this vast universe, and in turn use those philosophies and ideas to help inspire and encourage others to live their best lives while they have the chance. The fact that we are mere specs of dust in an infinite cosmos of giant rocks and flaming balls of fire sets my soul alight! We are fundamentally mice in a realm of Gods and Giants, floating atop a rock, shrouded in darkness, and guarded from the radioactive grip of space merely by a collection of random gasses.

Now if that doesn’t make your skin tingle, imagine what happens when two eternally swirling galaxies decide to get a little too close to eachother…

The point is, the complexity and randomness of our existence is something to be grateful for, most definitely aware of, and undoubtedly respected. It intoxicates me. Our very use of electricity is reliant on the happenings of the sun: a single flare can zap the grid into darkness.

Woah, got a little carried away there. Anyway…

My mind is a busy and interesting place to live. As thirsty as I am for knowledge, I’m equal parts driven by a sense of purpose to share, learn, and grow! The world, it’s inhabitants, it’s systems and their interconnectivity, is so beautiful to me. Life itself is such a random and fleeting gift. And if I can help a couple people that have lost sight of that along the way (with myself included) through creating content and taking photos, then my life has been worth something.

Why I Write Fiction

When I write fiction I start with nothing more than the character and a simple setting. I may have an idea of the direction I want to go in or a few beat points I want to hit along the way, but more often than not they change themselves by the time I get to them.

My first and main focus is to build out the character word by word, through their thoughts, dialogue, and experiences. I lean into their emotions, their psychology, and attempt to create a relatable, tangible life right there on the page.

You can see a solid example of this in my most recent story here:

What happens from there is rather strange.

That character, the surrounding people and places, the story itself… takes on a life all of its own. I’m simply typing away what is unfolding as it unfolds in real time, like a commentator watching a sports game.

Sure I litter in these philosophies, discoveries, and understandings through my writing, but it happens all on its own. The story becomes a living, breathing, entity, taking me (and my audience) where it wants to go.

What’s more, my writing offers a little peak behind the curtain of my mind, in the midst of narration or in the words and thoughts of my characters. And I love that!

I write to share my thoughts with the world. I write to inspire, uplift, explore, or move my audience in some way. I write to create life. To breath existence into a set of characters and words that are nothing but indisicrimnate symbols unless strung together in just the right way. Like a chord, or a perfect mix of colours.

Writing is my art. But the true beauty, the true art, is hidden in life itself and all the people and places in it. All the experiences to be had, witnessed, or heard of. How else would we create relatable characters, paint beautiful sunsets, or move people to tears through the lyrics in our songs?

A Life Of Adventure

As you’ll see in two of my proudest pieces, ‘What It Means To Be A Modern Viking’ and ‘Why I Never Want To Grow Up,’ living a life of activity and adventure is equally as important to me as writing fiction.

Sometimes, I want to be more direct with my audience, and just lay out what is on my mind in that moment. I do this through full articles like those mentioned above, or through a series of photos and captions for social media.

I love to take myself off the beaten track as much as possible and let my mind wander wherever it wants to in that moment. When I come back I feel refreshed, level, and more often than not exhausted (but that’s just because I’m getting older and lazier!)

This exploration of the world around me directly translates into my writing, and instills in me a sense of calm and clarity, discovering more about myself and the world around me as I dump my mind out onto the page.

What I truly love to do throughout these little excavations is take photos. Nothing too fancy, just the phone camera and a willingness to capture that perfect, unfiltered, moment.

Of course we all know there are just some sights that can only truly be respected in person. It’s more than a photo or a view, it’s a feeling, a passion, a reward, a tiny piece of time that is all your own. But hey, we can try. That’s the beauty in taking and sharing photos for me: that attempt at wrapping up your own small piece of the universe and relating it to others with that same sense of feeling or emotion.

It’s hard, but it’s possible.

This love of photo-taking and adventure is rather new for me actually, and I’m learning a little more with each trip out. Attempting to capture a mood or a feeling through the lense of a camera, and translate that still image into a sense of accomplishment or adventure is a task all on its own. But it’s one that calms my mind, gets me out the house, and inspires thousands of words and insights to bring to all those that stumble across my Instagram.

Life truly is a wonderful place, with beauty and wonder hidden around every corner. Under every rock, in every crevice, through every life. Writing, taking photos, creating worlds and characters, that’s just my way of exploring that magic and expressing it to the world.

What’s yours?