I Am Me

…and that’s my promise to the world ~ to keep it that way.

As time goes on, I find the same thoughts and feelings coming back to me, sentiments that I have had from the very beginning. Strangely enough, right now as we approach the end of 2018, I feel very similar to how I felt at the beginning of 2015 – when my journey really became global the first time and I packed up a single bag and headed to India on a one-way ticket, alone, with no-one to meet me the other side, and not a clue as to what I would find… 2015, 16 and 17 were incredible years of travel, and I saw so much in so little time, made so many fantasies a reality, and truly gave my dreams little wings of their own.

Still, I am moreoreless precisely the same person I was when I started, which is a beautiful realisation to behold.

I’ve learnt a lot, loved a lot, given up a lot, and yet, I’m still that kid/man I was back then, still dreaming, still wanting to see more, make bigger things happen, connect and grow.

I feel stronger in some ways, more sure of myself. Certainly I feel more sure of my limitations, which I guess has been my greatest journey really.

Illness has tried to break me, and failed.
Heartbreak has tried to break me, and fallen.
Disappointment and failure have tried to break me,
and failed, again and again…

Demons come and go, but what stays with me, always, is this journey. The people I have met. The faces, smiles, places and miles and miles of dusty, muddy road. People like you, who are reading this now, yes you, who have connected with me either in spirit, through the web or have crossed paths with me on the road, YOU have made my journey so so very special and I am simply honoured to be among such giving, beautiful kindred spirits.

God bless you all.
Thank you. I appreciate every single one of you.
Here’s to the next few years, with whatever they may bring.

Here’s to NEVER giving up, always being YOU,
forgiving yourself and allowing yourself to shine,
wherever you are, whatever you are…

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Here is a little film I made about my journey thus far, with reflections and thoughts on some of what I’ve learnt on the Road of my Global Pilgrimage… a journey that never stops in my soul, even if my body takes a moment to pause, and heal…

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Ad Astra…
Jx

Visuals shot on Ain Diab beach, Casablanca, Morocco,
September 2018, by Safia Raja.
Other footage shot by James Dee Clayton
and various companions around the globe 🙂

all inquiries: diary.aesthete@yahoo.co.uk