Such a delight to read your work again, Priya! I'm all on board for anything you write on so astutely and thoughtfully. Here's to your ten thousand journeys and your readers along for the ride!
Ohh exciting! I think a lot of us are trying to find our way, especially as technology throws a new curveball at us seemingly every fortnight. I love the idea, and wish you all the best on this new journey!
Beautiful description of the ripples. I will always picture the dirvish under there every time I see one now. And I live in the ocean so it’s often! Although sometimes they are also big seals.
My journey feels like I’m crossing a threshold. Not sure where to yet though. Look forward to reading more.
Haha. I meant *on* the ocean, not in. I only wish I was a mermaid. 😂 (I was posting way past my bedtime last night catching up on all the great substacks.)
Priya, I’ve read your comments on Dandelion Seeds and decided I needed to subscribe to your Substack. Your post made me think of one of my favorite poems and it seems to capture the spirit of your diagram:
Ithaka
BY C. P. CAVAFY
TRANSLATED BY EDMUND KEELEY
As you set out for Ithaka
hope your road is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them:
you’ll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
wild Poseidon—you won’t encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.
Hope your road is a long one.
May there be many summer mornings when,
with what pleasure, what joy,
you enter harbors you’re seeing for the first time;
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations
to buy fine things,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
sensual perfume of every kind—
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
and may you visit many Egyptian cities
to learn and go on learning from their scholars.
Keep Ithaka always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you’re destined for.
But don’t hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so you’re old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you’ve gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.
Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.
Without her you wouldn't have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.
And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you’ll have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.
Thank you for sharing this poem with me. It captures everything I have felt about journeys, both the surface romance and adventure, and the poignant and bittersweet nature of arrival. It’s greatly appreciated!
Just discovered your Substack and this post through Notes, and I’m so glad I did. This part really resonated with me: “Sometimes, it takes years of many such moments before you realize some mystery is calling you to change, leave certainty, and go on a journey.” I’m in that transition period right now, and I’ve always struggled with leaving certainty—I hate risk! But the accumulation of the types of tiny moments you describe has propelled me into change, including starting my own Substack. Anyway, thanks for the wonderful post, and best of luck on these journeys 😊
Such a delight to read your work again, Priya! I'm all on board for anything you write on so astutely and thoughtfully. Here's to your ten thousand journeys and your readers along for the ride!
Thank you, Nadia, I really appreciate your support!
Yes! If your dervishes are a glimpse of what’s to come on this journey, I’m looking forward to being a passenger.
Thank you, Stace, much appreciate it!
Ohh exciting! I think a lot of us are trying to find our way, especially as technology throws a new curveball at us seemingly every fortnight. I love the idea, and wish you all the best on this new journey!
Thank you, much appreciated!
Wonderful, Priya. I feel I have so much in common with you.
Thanks for the support, Mike!
I love this new focus for your newsletter. I’m at the begging of some big changes and look forward to reading your perspective!
Thank you for the support and company! It'll be fun!
Sound awesome, I’m in!
Great to see you here!
Beautiful description of the ripples. I will always picture the dirvish under there every time I see one now. And I live in the ocean so it’s often! Although sometimes they are also big seals.
My journey feels like I’m crossing a threshold. Not sure where to yet though. Look forward to reading more.
Thank you, Kim, and welcome! Living in the ocean sounds amazing!
Haha. I meant *on* the ocean, not in. I only wish I was a mermaid. 😂 (I was posting way past my bedtime last night catching up on all the great substacks.)
I imagined a houseboat with seals circling happily though mermaid sounds good too!
Me too, Kim!
I like it because it gives you the power to write about what you're excited about. This usually creates the best writing.
That’s true. It also acts as fuel so you show up to write despite life getting in the way. Thanks, Hermann!
Priya, I’ve read your comments on Dandelion Seeds and decided I needed to subscribe to your Substack. Your post made me think of one of my favorite poems and it seems to capture the spirit of your diagram:
Ithaka
BY C. P. CAVAFY
TRANSLATED BY EDMUND KEELEY
As you set out for Ithaka
hope your road is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them:
you’ll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
wild Poseidon—you won’t encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.
Hope your road is a long one.
May there be many summer mornings when,
with what pleasure, what joy,
you enter harbors you’re seeing for the first time;
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations
to buy fine things,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
sensual perfume of every kind—
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
and may you visit many Egyptian cities
to learn and go on learning from their scholars.
Keep Ithaka always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you’re destined for.
But don’t hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so you’re old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you’ve gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.
Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.
Without her you wouldn't have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.
And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you’ll have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.
Thank you for sharing this poem with me. It captures everything I have felt about journeys, both the surface romance and adventure, and the poignant and bittersweet nature of arrival. It’s greatly appreciated!
There’s a little bit of Ulysses and Penelope in all of us.
If you want to feel the full power of this poem, listen to this version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n3n2Ox4Yfk
I love that image of hidden elements making magic in the ordinary world. Even the “ordinary” is full of mystery. Thanks for being here.
Yes to those little water dervishes, how beautifully conceived. So glad you've found some clarity and I'll be here to take the journeys with you!
Just discovered your Substack and this post through Notes, and I’m so glad I did. This part really resonated with me: “Sometimes, it takes years of many such moments before you realize some mystery is calling you to change, leave certainty, and go on a journey.” I’m in that transition period right now, and I’ve always struggled with leaving certainty—I hate risk! But the accumulation of the types of tiny moments you describe has propelled me into change, including starting my own Substack. Anyway, thanks for the wonderful post, and best of luck on these journeys 😊