When I think about a journey, I think about those people in the past that had nothing but a compass guiding them towards unknown lands.
Imagine for a second: you are a sailor that is stepping into this huge vessel towards some land over the sea, a place that nobody knows or thinks it exists. There’s only a strong belief that this place IS there.
I can feel excitement while walking on this huge boat, which will be your home for months, everything is new, and everything is going to be new. You see the ocean from the bow, a little wind whispers to you and the sun is smiling.
The bell rings, a quick kiss to the one you are leaving behind… metre after metre, the vessel is now taking you closer to this unknown land.
Nowadays this is what people feel when they are starting a new life somewhere else, like I did, like other friends of mine did… You are in a vortex of emotions that is hard to explain with words, but they are so strong that you feel more than alive, you feel everything of the present, you ARE the present, your present.
You look back at your parents, brothers, sisters, nephews, all relatives and friends… Once again. Then your sight is searching for that “new land in sight”. Sometimes we quickly look back, sometimes we don’t because it hurts but the voice inside our heart is screaming loud “go man, go!” because that IS the moment when you are alive.
Everything is so clear that sometimes it is blurry, everything is so alive that it seems to be a dream, everything is there and nothing is at the same time, a limbo of life perhaps…
Feelings of fear and resentment overwhelm us, we are scared, we feel already alone… But when we gradually start to live this new adventure, we become stronger, confident, our fears vanish into thin air, and of course, our feelings for the ones we leave behind become stronger than ever.
Like that sailor, we set our internal compass towards new targets, new ideas and an extreme desire to be something new. The compass will guide you towards all those problems that must be faced in order to win the prize, and we all know how to play this game, right? We have to fight at the very beginning, but once we know the tricks, we will be ready to do the same process all over again and again. It might be easier, it might be harder, but the compass is still there, with a few scratches maybe, but still working and guiding you in the new paths to come.
The compass
The compass is probably the first thing you associate with a journey, especially a journey of discovery or an expedition. The beauty of this instrument stays in its simplicity: it detects a magnetic field and the little needle will point to the North.
It is so small and fragile, but actually detects one of the strongest elements in the Universe: our planet’s magnetic field is suddenly visible on our hands!
However, its strength is also its weakness: any magnetic field could interfere, materials can interfere and the direction is all of a sudden compromised, so you are following the wrong path towards your goal.
This is the reason why I wanted the compass to be the main symbol for ‘Voyage‘: it is a very important tool if you are sailing on unknown seas and discovering these new lands, but also it can be altered if you are close to something which is changing that path, as it happens on a journey if you do something wrong.
And if you persist in doing that, the compass will show you exactly what you want, not your target anymore.
Anyway, the main reason why I chose the compass can be found on the first lines of this post: emotions.
Hard to explain in a few words what happens when you leave your homeland, knowing that it could be forever…
Sure, this song is also for the ones whose dream is to leave and start their own adventure from scratch but that have not done it yet… Definitely not an easy task but, trust me, if you are one of these people: it is immensely beautiful and worth it to try.
Enjoy the video below.