What my heart is leading me to know

Thanks to Nick Smith for suggesting this blog topic.

I remember being laughed at by my mother and her friends. It wasn’t malicious. In fact I think my mum was secretly proud. I was probably about eight or nine years old and I’d just announced in response to that patronising question that adults are wont to ask children regarding what they want be when they grow up, that I wanted to be an astronomical photographer. I wanted to travel into space and take photographs of stars and planets and asteroids. It never occurred to me that this was impossible, or even improbable. I couldn’t figure out why they were laughing. I was serious.

When I was in my 20s I worked with an editor called Harry Pobjoy. That’s what he did, helping others craft their writing without changing the meaning or the writer’s own style. I could probably do with Harry looking over my shoulder right now! Harry said to me once that I write best when I write from my heart. I’m not sure I knew what he meant. Then.

Following my heart has taken me to surprising places and unearthed passions I never would have expected – snow skiing, playback theatre, social history, diving, indigenous art, screenwriting, maps, architecture, design, bushwalking, photography (still), the night sky (still), blogging… Maybe not so surprising for that young girl who dreamt of celestial imaging.

So what my heart is leading me to know is the power of taking a leap into the unknown, and giving in to the experience. And what makes it all worthwhile are the people who share the journey along the way.