Art

Arts, Crafts and Luru

/ Joyce / 2 Comments

On the last day of our Amazon jungle river cruise, we visited an indigenous community where they made arts and crafts for us to see how they were made. Many of these arts and crafts were available for purchase afterwards and we also saw them in the stores that we visited in the Amazon. It was so nice to see how those beautiful items were skillfully crafted and put on display. We also had the pleasure of meeting the parrot, Luru, who provided us with lots of great entertainment.

I want to give a special shout out to my friends Eduardo and Leigh of 1000 Treks for putting this trip together. I met Eduardo about 10 years ago in his hiking group and then began training with him in his fitness Boot Camp so that I could prepare to climb Kilimanjaro with his group. I ended up having to cancel on Kilimanjaro due to an injury, but I stayed in touch with Eduardo and went on some other adventures with his group over the years. I had always wanted to go on one of his trips abroad and was so happy I got this experience.

Jungle Cruise – The Indian Village

/ Joyce / Leave a comment

On the second day of the Amazon jungle cruise, we went to visit an Indian village. Because their small dock couldn’t accommodate our large boat, we were shuttled to the community in a smaller boat in groups of 10 at a time. Once we arrived at the village, we were welcomed and treated to a ritual of music and dance.

Afterwards, we got to play with some of their pets, like a sweet little furry sloth. I had always wanted to meet a sloth. Those creatures are so huggable and lovable. They just latch onto you and make you feel all warm and fuzzy. We also had the opportunity to try some roasted termites, which I passed on, but the Brazilian nuts were great!

The Art of Doing

/ Joyce / Leave a comment

I’m a dreamer and I like to encourage others to dream. Dreaming is good. Well, it’s good until you get so caught up in dreaming that it begins to take the place of actually DOING something. What I mean by DOING is putting forth the physical effort necessary to see to it that what worked out so perfectly in your dream will come to fruition.

There are a lot of things floating around on the canvas of my mind, ranging from things I know I need to do, to things I really want to do, to things I’ve started but haven’t finished. For instance, I went on a desert trek in Israel a couple of months ago, volunteered at a youth camp, and toured the Holy Land. I took lots of pictures and recorded videos of the trek and the tour, but haven’t touched any of it. I know it’s going to make a great episode, or series of episodes (I haven’t decided) for the web series…

…if I could just bring myself to do it.

So what’s the holdup?

Well…I also have a ton of video footage to edit from a weekend adventure in the Anza-Borrego Desert here in California. I went there the week after I returned from Israel and had a blast. We caravanned on dirt roads while hanging out of the sunroof of an SUV, explored some really cool slot canyons, went spelunking in mud caves where it was pitch dark, and witnessed one of the most amazing sunsets I had ever seen from the top of a peak above some other freaking amazing slot canyons. This would make a really awesome episode as well…

…if I could just put some action to all of that dreaming.

I also have an upcoming trip this weekend to a breathtaking lake in the Sierras where I’ll be filming another episode of the web series. I’ve got to write a script to break it up into segments like a show because I want this one done right. I’m organizing and leading a group for this hike, so I need to get a lot of things coordinated and I have a limited amount of time to do it.

And I still have the Israel trip and Anza-Borrego unfinished. I also have to do laundry and pack for the upcoming trip. I need to go to REI and pick up some last-minute camping stuff. I need to make sure I remember to pack all my winter clothing to sleep in because it’s going to be in the 30’s at night and I just can’t go out there and freeze. I need to be sure to provide my group with all the information they need regarding this weekend’s trip.

Yet I still need to do those episodes that are waiting in the wings. See what procrastination does? It makes us look busy, like we have so much on our plate, when all we need is proper planning. A good, well though-out schedule will surely solve my problem with ease. But then there’s the issue of keeping up with the schedule. The act of DOING.

Perhaps I should call it the ART of doing. After all, it takes great skill to successfully balance multiple tasks and see them through to completion.

The antidote for procrastination is accountability. Now that I’ve opened up about these things, I’m obligated to fulfill my role of the artist, so to speak, and see these dreams materialize.

I wonder what sort of a tale I will find myself in while taking on this mountain?