Note: I originally wrote this post about 5 months ago, but thought I’d go back and edit it and curate it more before life settled back in and got crazy with a lot of work and traveling down to Disney to run the races in January, February and April. I’ve driven abour 20K miles the last couple months, visiting old friends and new cruise family all across the United States. I kept promising to publish my thoughts, but only now am getting to hitting the Publish button. It could probably use more polish, but whatever :).
Next week, I’m about to embark on a 3 week trans pacific cruise back to reset and reflect a little more and get away from work. I’ll try to post some more highlights and stories from the cruise in those 3 weeks! Stay tuned.
It’s a Big World (After All)
As Humans, we often think the world revolves around us (by our actions, and also its in our nature to think we’re at the top of the food chain). While we understand in our heads that we are tiny in comparison to the world, I found myself just completely awestruck and smacked multiple times at the sheer scale of what we were seeing and just how insignificant we are in comparison.
This happened multiple times, repeatedly, as we traveled around the world. Almost immediately as we set sail, you had no choice but to just take in all the water on the ocean. As we sailed south (or really any direction), there was just water in all directions, calm as could be, with the sun setting in the distance.
As we went around the world, I had the same feeling of awe at
- Iguazu Falls in Argentina (and Brazil) — the largest waterfall system in the world (and one of my bucket list items to see)
- Antarctica — the sheer magnitude of the icebergs and mountains weren’t really evident to me till I zoomed in with my long lens and realized there were hundreds, if not thousands of penguins that we simply couldn’t see cause we were relatively still really far away
- Chilean and Norwegian Fjords — as we sailed through the fjords, you realize you’re far away from shore, but still at points you’re looking straight up and you can’t really tell how tall the mountains are — then you realize that little spec is a gigantic tree at the top
- Maasai Mara (Savannah) — having multiple days and a hot air balloon ride over the savannah just to realize how small of a section we saw (and realizing that the other side of the border in Tanzania is the Serengetti and it’s even bigger over there)
- Dunes in Abu Dhabi — seeing the sun set over the rolling dunes in 360 degrees with no civilization in sight
When I thought about the sheer magnitude of these places and the things I was seeing, it really put into perspective for me just how small we are on this earth. As I reflected on it at several points (like waiting for and watching the sunset over the dunes), I realized I had two different thoughts that I was weighing in my head.
On one hand, we’re really so insignificant, do we really matter? In the grand scheme of things, little old me is going to be here on this earth for such a short time and who am I that I would matter to future generations.
On the other hand, as a Christian, I believe that God cares about me individually, and when put in that perspective, it’s not just words, but it really is / was astounding to me. That God cares about me — and KNOWS ME BY NAME, when I’m so insignificant is mind blowing (and continues to be mind blowing), even more so as I travel the world and see how big and majestic it is.
I reflected a lot on Psalm 139 as I looked out over the vastness of the earth and teared up with the thought that God cares THAT much about me (as well as each of us on this Earth).
1 O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
3 You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
4 You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.
5 You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!7 I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave, you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
They cannot be numbered!
18 I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!
Find Your People
As I prepared to go on the cruise, I fully prepared to do a little reset in my career, and figure out what I wanted to do with my life going forward. I was planning on seeing if photography was something I really wanted to pursue full time, and really just dive deep into all of my craft.
I fully intended to be a hermit, leaning into my introverted side and just watch the drama unfold on the ship from. While I did end up doing my fair share of retreating and hiding from people, I was most surprised to find that I was able to build (or got captured) into a couple different little pockets of community aboard the ship.
Some of the pockets of community that I discovered
- Other Photographers onboard — and the Photography Crew (from Royal)
- A small (or very large) bible study community that formed on the ship
- The group of non-retired people that put their lives on hold
- NBA Finals Watch Parties at 4 AM
Some of my favorite memories are of sharing some of the sights and tastes with these newfound friends. Additionally, having these new life long friends that have this shared experience has been incredible. They’ve been an incredible support as we all come back and are being hit with the whiplash of being back to our “normal lives” as well as withdrawl from seeing each other daily and having a new experience each day.
Several times, coming back from a side trip off the ship, I was REALLY touched by the number of people (non-crew) that excitedly were telling me “Welcome home! We’ve missed you”. The first time it happened when I was returning from an extended period in Hawaii, I had this sudden realization that we really had created a little family on the ship.
I also felt lots of warm fuzzies everytime I’d see a friend after a couple days and we’d be talking about how we hadn’t seen each other in forever. It really did have that college feel again.
It was also fun to see how everyone really “found their people”. Some people played board games, did puzzles, knit, painted, karaoke, choir, went to shows, hung out in the pub, zumba, rock climbing, volleyball, pickelball, darts or baggo (or even get really into egg drop contraptions). There were so many different pockets and groups of people it was really cool to see this little community develop.
As I come back to land, it’s been a little different (and difficult) to readjust to not having these built in communities right there for me. Having to be super intentional and try to find and build those communities has been a little jarring to be sure, but I’m definitely trying to continue pressing in.
Choose Positivity
It was astounding to me how many people on the ship seemed to have never traveled before, or just felt entitled (on many different fronts). One of the things that I’ve learned through all my traveling is that life will happen, and things won’t go according to plan. How you respond to those things is a choice that you make. A choice that impacts yourself, but also those around you.
There were many times that we had things go different to our plans — ports that were missed due to weather or current events, reroutes due to wars, Diet Coke shortages (*gasp*), trip interruptions, world wonder excursions that got disrupted, etc.
In each situation, there was a large, very vocal crowd of people that just love complaining and were miserable (both because they were upset about things not going their way, but also making people around them miserable).
I like complaining about stuff as much as the next person, but especially when you’re on this trip of a lifetime and going to see all sorts of amazing things around the world, it’s so much better for your own mental health (and those around you) to focus on the things that you were able to see instead, rather than what you didn’t see.
It’s one of the things that I’ve been learning as I get older — focus on the positives, rather than dwelling on the negatives. You’ll be happier. People around you will be happier. People will like being around you more.
…focus on the positives, rather than dwelling on the negatives
Don’t get me wrong, you can be disappointed, but it doesn’t give you license to just be a miserable person (especially to crew and tour operators who have no control over many of these situations).
Some examples of where I *chose* to see the positives…in table form, cause I’m a nerd.
| Situation | The Positives |
|---|---|
| Missing Ports (due to weather) | We’re safe, extra rest, time to build more of the community on the ship |
| Rerouting around Africa due to not being able to go through the Suez Canal | We got SO much more time in Africa, a part of the world we wouldn’t have gotten to spend a lot of time in. I got to go on 8 additional safari’s that I hadn’t planned, and got some incredible photos, as well as just some of the most peaceful times I’ve had in my life. A lot of the complainers left, so we had an incredible time on the ship that was sailing way under capacity. Perhaps one of my favorite 40 day stretch on the cruise. |
| Train Ride to Agra being delayed for hours | We got to see so much of the countryside that we normally would have zoomed right by. We had full air conditioning, drinks and good company. Shared experiences and trauma. Sure, it was disappointing, but it wasn’t the end of the world like some people made it out to be. |
| Diet Coke Shortage | Got to try some other flavors around the world and also just some other drinks from the drink package. Look up Coke Plus :D. Also, arguably drinking more water and the juice bar was probably healthier anyway… |
| Being blockaded from docking in Amsterdam | Because of the itinerary change, I was able to fly to Iceland a couple days early and got to spend the night in one of my favorite places in the world — and got some incredible puffin photos, really a great time to recharge and get back to nature after the hectic Europe section of the cruise. |
Slow Down
Part of the reason that it’s taken so long for me to write up some of my reflections and learnings, is that I’ve been trying to wrap my head around some of the things that we saw. It’s not an exaggeration to say that we had probably 100 different mini-trips just packed in back to back to back. Normally, you go on a vacation or a trip and then are digesting it for a couple weeks or months, but for this cruise, we didn’t really have time to even think a ton about what we saw, cause the next incredible thing was 8 hours away in the next port.
As I reflect on what my favorite moments from the cruise, I often go back to the times that I was able to actually slow down and really be present and enjoy my time in a place.
I’ll fully acknowledge that I’m already biased towards that kind of lifestyle as a nature and wildlife photographer, but I found it particularly relevant as I saw people running from thing to thing and not really taking time to appreciate what they were seeing.
Nothing really encapsulates this more than the dreaded “bus tour”. I cannot describe how much I dislike / hate a bus tour. People run from place to place taking a photo at each place, not exploring and not really having time to understand or really take in what they’re seeing.
Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. ~ Ferris Bueller
I saw so many people running for thing to thing and missing what was right in front of them sometimes. There was all the activities on the ship that people felt like they had to do, then all the excursions people were running from place to place.
For me, some of the most magical times were just standing at the front of the ship for hours, watching nature go by as we sailed through fjords and across the ocean.
A couple stories in particular come to mind the really emphasized this point for me.
The Introverted Penguin
One of my favorite photos happened in Antarctica when most everyone left the front of the ship and I was alone with a couple of people. After the Drake Passage, we had a couple of stops on the itinerary. We sailed through a couple different bays and straits, but in between the different stops, people got bored and went inside. I have no clue why you would not be outside when you’re sailing around Antarctica, but to each their own. As I was just enjoying the peace and quiet, I noticed a tiny piece of ice floating by the ship and as I squinted a little bit, I realized there was a solitary penguin on it, just chilling there. I call him my introverted penguin and it became one of my metaphors for the rest of the cruise. So many people missed this incredible sight, simply because it wasn’t on the scheduled itinerary and it happened as we were in transit between bays.
The Northern Lights
Similarly, we had several nights where we could see the Northern Lights and while it became a big event with a lot of the ship gathering together in certain spaces, I found a lot of people complaining that they couldn’t see anything, but they only popped by for a couple minutes and then left. They didn’t let their eyes adjust to the ambient light, they didn’t wait for the aurora to flare up, and they certainly didn’t have patience.
I did a couple time lapses and while they ended up being a couple minutes long, overall, most of us that saw the peak aurora dancing across the sky were out there for a couple hours. Just an incredible experience, but definitely something that you have to slow down and wait / enjoy.
Hot Air Balloon
One of my favorite memories from the trip was doing the sunrise hot air balloon ride over the savannah. Super peaceful and just stunning to get out there before all the jeeps start for the day. What I found particularly refreshing was the aspect of “whatever we see, we see” since there’s no real control other than going up and down. As we floated by, we saw so much wildlife just living life uninterrupted which was really refreshing.
Since that day, I often have tried to get back to that feeling of “whatever we see, we see” and going with the flow.
Black Rhino Sighting
Lastly, this one experience really epitomizes slowing down. When we were in Africa, a LOT of people went on safari’s to some of the National Parks. While I had my own private driver, I saw lots of fellow cruise passengers all over the park. We all happened to be grabbing lunch at the same place within one of the parks, and I was surprised to hear from a lot of people that they hadn’t seen anything at all, and that they were unhappy with the park.
I had seen a ton of wildlife, and my guide had done a great job of not rushing me as I was taking a bajillion photos and just living my best life. As we left lunch and started back on the path, we were driving and I was being lookout and I saw movement in the brush across the valley from us. I alerted my driver, and lo and behold, we saw the elusive and rare black rhino with a baby. As I was taking photos, I heard a bunch of jeeps coming up from behind us, and I tried to signal to them that there was something to see. None of them stopped, I think maybe 10 different vehicles passed us, and not one of them stopped and they all missed out on the sight. This wasn’t just a one time thing either, on several of my safari’s we ended up seeing a ton of really cool sights because I was taking photos and we were stopped, and wildlife or conditions changed and popped up right in front of us. For those that were too impatient to wait, or rushing to the next destination, they all tended to miss out.
As I get back to land, I’ve been trying to keep that mindset of slowing down in the midst of busyness (especially in the holiday season). What might we be missing by rushing from event to event, from place to place and from conversation to conversation?
Be Intentional
One of the things I noticed the most on the ship was also something I’ve been learning and noticing the last couple years as well.
On the ship and in each port, there were simply so many choices to make. Activities abounded (even if they repeated after awhile), and there’s always something to do, something to see or people to hang out with.
When you have that many options, its easy just to get lost in the noise, or just go with whatever comes up first, but asking myself *why* I was doing certain activities helped me figure out how I wanted to spend my time.
At the beginning of the cruise, I told people that I was treating this cruise as a sampler platter — a test of various places around the world in order to figure out where I wanted to go back to and spend more time. As I was planning and as the cruise started I made the conscious decision to use some of the cruising days to get off the ship and do some independent journeys. I had multiple people ask why I would pay for a spot on the ship, then leave, but for me, it was about being intentional with my time and positioning around the world.
Since I was in South America, Asia or Australia, why not spend additional time and really dive deeper into the places that I knew that I wanted to spend more time?
Several other times, there were included excursions that didn’t really appeal to me, and early in the cruise, I went along just cause of FOMO and “value”, but toward the end, I skipped a bunch of excursions and used my time to do things I wanted to do instead. I ended up being much happier doing things that I wanted to do, rather than just going along with the crowd.
If I hadn’t intentionally done what made me happy, I wouldn’t have booked an impromptu safari to Kenya, or gone to Iceland early, or even skip some ports (and avoid the crowds) to do a puzzle.
As I’m back on land and back to the chaos of life, I’ve tried to continue to be more intentional about everything I do, asking myself “why” behind every decision I make. We only have a limited amount of time, let’s maximize that time by being intentional.
Matti 
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