I have a plan. I decided to start off the year with a personal adventure of sorts -- a solo trip around the state of Michigan -- visiting and photographing many of the beautiful and interesting lighthouses on Michigan's coast.
Why? Well, it just seemed like a fun thing to do. I enjoy photography, and -- for whatever reason -- think lighthouses are very interesting. So it makes sense to take advantage of the long and beautiful Michigan coastline, seeing as many lighthouses (and other interesting sites) as I can. But the trip also has the advantage of giving me some important time to myself. Time to think about all of the blessings in my life. Time to think about all of the places I've been. And time to think about all the places I'd like to go.
Now don't get me wrong -- this is not a pilgrimage, crusade, mission or anything nearly so noble. I don't expect to emerge with all the answers. I don't foresee returning a "changed man". I just hope to do some appreciation, self reflection, and have a good time. And I hope that, many years from now, I'll look back on this little trip with sincere fondess.
One important point -- I could not have undertaken this adventure without the support of my wonderful wife Tami. She was gracious enough to watch the boys by herself, giving me the time to do this. Thanks Tam, you're the best!
So what's the goal? Those people that know me -- know I'm very "type A". I love organization. I love lists. So I needed to put together a few objectives before departing. So here they are:
Objectives
Relax. Have fun. And have an adventure.
Mind you, this is not a big pilgrimage. It’s not hiking the Camino de Santiago trail, climbing Mt Everest or crossing the country on a motorcycle. It’s a small, short trip – but certainly comes with its own sense of excitement.
Be introspective.
Plan on
spending some time with myself—something I can’t do too much, having young
kids.
See and photograph at
least 3 lighthouses per day.
Originally I was thinking that I’d see ALL of the Michigan Lower
Peninsula lighthouses during this trip, but after thinking a little bit harder,
that’s just not possible in this time frame.
I don’t want to be in a rush. I
want to enjoy myself, and “take it all in”.
Think of and write
down at least 10 unique things I’m grateful for every day.
I’ve been told (and believe) that one of the important steps
to being happy is reminding yourself of things you’re grateful for. I take too much for granted. This will be a good opportunity to remind
myself of those things.
Post some of my miscellaneous
thoughts every evening.
Put up a picture or two, and some of my “musings” from the
day somewhere on the internet (Facebook or the like) – so anyone that wants to travel
vicariously with me can do so! I’m not much of a writer, but think it might
be fun to just get down a couple sentences.
Remind myself who I
am, and where I want to go.
I recently started looking in to a “Life Plan”. This is a way to make sure you’re working
towards the things in life that are important to you. I need to give this some more thought. It’s certainly worth the time. One final note. The lighthouse shown at the top of this post is the William Livingstone Memorial Lighthouse on Belle Isle in Detroit. I have been working in a building that's less that 15 minutes away from Belle Isle and this lighthouse for close to 10 years. It was only recently that I took a few minutes at lunch time to go see it. As I drove around the island -- a beautiful place with a great deal of promise -- I thought to myself "why did I wait so long to come see this?" I don't know. What I do know is that you have to do what you can with the time you have, and that's why little adventures like this can be so important. At least, that's the plan.
More to come...
