I want to talk about Robyn Davidson - The camel lady.
I learned about her from Abby - of course. My travel partner/ nomadic spirit guide soulmate. Abby sent me the trailer for the movie based on Robyn's 1977 9 month trek across the Australian desert.
Damn this lady is fierce. And, I was so surprised I had never heard of her. She's still alive and has three homes (see she's a nomad at heart and can't just pick one place to stay) -- a home in the himalayas, Sydney and London. So quaint.
In 1977 at the age of 27 (my age now), she took four camels and her dog on a trek from Alice Springs in the middle of Australia to the Western Coast. It took 9 months, a lot of sweat, blood, tears and serious strength. She did it alone, with no help and made it. She more than made it.
I admire her so much -- she reminds me of another idol of mine, Beryl Markham. I first read about Beryl while I was studying abroad in Spain. My dad slipped "West With the Night" into my backpack before I hit the road to Madrid and said "read this, you'll like it". I did and I loved it.
I think it kinda added some fuel to my travel fire -- it sparked something. Beryl was an Independent, badass woman just like Robyn. She was the first person (man or woman) to fly East to West over the Atlantic and in her late teens she was a champion horse trainer. She then learned to fly and helped track large game for hunters in Africa.
These women have something in common that makes me chomp at the bit - an utter thirst for adventure and freedom.
I like this quote from Robyn:
‘I’ve chosen, I guess, freedom over comfort, which means that I’ve often been uncomfortable"
It's something that I think of all the time. Sometimes I hazily dream of having a home and getting cozy, but then I realize I would lose so much of myself in the process. I'm just not ready to settle down yet. If I ever had a home that felt more than semi-permanent, I'd need another home to escape to and maybe another after that…and that just brings me back to where I started. A woman, uneasy with settling down and staying in one place for too long. I'm like a shark in the water, I have to keep moving or else I'll expire.
So back to Robyn and her camels and her journey alone. It inspires me to no end. She struggled, sure -- it wasn't always easy, but in the struggle she grew so much as a person. She proved she could do it, because why not! She said she could and she trusted her gut.
I often think about doing something similar. Maybe not with camels, but a solo journey off the grid. But, a piece of me is a little scared. Clinging to the part of me that can't entirely let go of controlling everything that happens. A piece of me that needs to know what's coming next.
My inner dialogue says "but, that's what adventures are all about, my dear."
I guess that is something I'll just have to let happen, though when the time comes.
Let go, take on challenging adventures, learn everything I can & be free.
kianamaiart
pixelskylines
gummygunk
kaledo-art
