To explore the soul, the will, the heart. To exercise the courage to continue on.
In our era, there are very few places left to explore. The edges of the map were filled in a long time ago.
Nowadays, it seems there are only a few—a talented, qualified, or wealthy few—who can obtain the permission necessary to board a rocket ship, pilot a rover, jet off or sink into the unknown. Maybe it's always been that way...
Even the explorers out of Europe needed financial backing. Even the pioneers driving west across the North American continent had to have permissions and permits—access granted to them. Even the first explorers, the Polynesians spreading across the Pacific and the ancestors of the Native Americans required climatic conditions to be in their favor, as well as other natural and supernatural permissions.
The soul, the will, and the heart of these explorers. Their intentions and the unintended consequences of their explorations...
Where can that soul and that will and that heart possibly be expressed today?
In our modern era, all the earth and oceans are catalogued, bordered, and thoroughly photographed. There certainly are astronauts and scientists still exploring (and there is need for more), but how many compared to the thousands, the millions, the billions of the rest of us? The slots available to would-be explorers are too reserved for just a talented, qualified, or wealthy few.
What are the rest of us to do? Stand by and cheer? Watch? Merely dream? Or can we truly explore the unknown on our own? Where?
This is why I write. Between the day-to-day necessities of employment, housing, commuting, caring for pets, children, relatives, et cetera—there is this. This push towards an unknown. To explore the heart, the will, the soul. Because I can't live my life on the sidelines.
True, we can't all be astronauts. We can't all be scientists. We can't all be rich enough to fund our own ventures. But we can all be explorers in our own way.