____
news
December 16th, 2018 - balanced
Hey guys,
How's life in these days? Are you living it or is it living you?
It’s a question I reevaluate regularly; because, even though I like to think of myself as a member or even the vanguard of the former scenario, I sometimes get caught up in the latter. A certain routine helps me creating and passion makes the workload lighter, but at times I need to remind myself that even doing the thing you love, you need to just stop doing at times, clock off and make time for living a little between the lines of work, ambition and achievement.
I've spent the last three months in Granada, Spain, where I kept my work-life balance in check by exploring, hanging out with friends and taking small trips. I'll let these photos do the talking:
Cahorros trek, Monachil
Malaga
Ronda
civilization
The other night I was standing on the rooftop terrace of my building and it made me truly realize what I love about civilization and why I crave it as much as nature: it's not the convenience and infrastructure; what's really at the heart of it is life, human life, buzzing in the streets by day, cozying up in the houses at night, myriad stories unfolding in real time within an intricate architectural labyrinth. The pulse of civilization beats strongly in cities whether it is slow or fast, and for me this feeling is intoxicating and vital.
One of the reasons why I love Granada as a city in particular is that it doesn't fit into any one drawer - it combines a big city vibe with rural tranquility, all-encompassing infrastructure with nature at its doorstep, ethnicities, cultures and lifestyles with one another. I already raved about the beauty of this city last year, so I'll just leave you with the photographic gist:
latest content
Here are some of the pieces I've been working on lately:
countries | Africa | Rwanda
Kibuye / Living with Explosive Likelihoods
the gamble with odds that aren’t all that disastrous – living near dangerous potentials
They are accustomed to the normality of any given day that isn’t the one when calamity actually strikes.
reads | life
Absolutely Relative: Colorful Matters between Black and White
Universal truth or elusive matter of perspective?
So can we find or define any indisputable truths then? I think we can, right at the intersection of reason and compassion.
photos | landscapes
Beauty Oblivion
stumbling upon marvelous spots between well-known lines praising landscape destinations
Shackled by tight guidebook lines, all too caught up in the race to our next destination, we often become oblivious to the landscape-beauty that generously flecks the vacuum left by our stingy attention span – right outside the bus window, behind that famous mountain, around every acclaimed corner.
photos | urban
Central & West Asia
pastel Soviet grids & age-old towns
functional Soviet blueprints with lavish sprinkles & old stone fusing with glassy towers
glimpse: CAPITAL CATAPULT | A trade hub thanks to the canal, a financial center sheltered by a tax haven, a duty free zone second only to Hong Kong, Panama City is a money machine, an economic engine, a wealth generator. For some. Looking at the ivory towers from across the bay you will find that the capital catapults only a few to skyline heights, while most are left behind.
glimpse: NECTAR & ROCKET FUEL | Her eyes were tied to the horizon, sucking it in, feeding her hunger for substantial existential beauty, quenching her thirst for natural native aesthetics and a home within herself. And when the eyes were full and the brain soaked, the view, ferrying a notion, trickled down her spine, esophagus and aorta, into her innermost, sweet and guilt-free nectar enriched with rocket fuel. And for a moment she flew away and beyond, and everything, every little and big thing outside her moment, settled for oblivion gladly.
glimpse: MANY REASONS | I’ve seen these guys fight over many silly reasons, but race was never one of them.
glimpse: STENCH | It’s hard to describe what it’s like to stand only meters away from one of the largest seabird colonies in North America, gazing at ten thousands of nesting birds blanketing the cliffs, while wings and shrieks fill the air all around, but if I had to put it in one word I’d say: smelly.
where to next
In a week from now it'll be time to say "hasta luego" once more and off I fly for the first Christmas at home in 7 years!
So long,
Miles
newer updates:
August 16th, 2019 - work on the ground & online
older updates:
October 16th, 2018 - transitioning
May 11th, 2018 - Nat Geo & travel staccato
March 16th, 2018 - bringing home why I set out
February 16th, 2018 - Winterstan
January 16th, 2018 - endings and beginnings
December 16th, 2017 - year coming to a close
November 16th, 2017 - back in the bubble
September 26th, 2017 - out here living these stories
July 25th, 2017 - idle facade, busy behind the scenes
May 16th, 2017 - 5 years on the road
April 16th, 2017 - the makeover