Life is a wonderful event. The alternative is to give up.
There was a man, a homeless man I met in the courtyard of the Louvre museum in Paris France. His home was under the gaze of naked female form. His blanket and a small battery operated radio was his home. As I was photographing in the area, I felt it right to ask the man if I could photograph her. He seemed protective of the image, as he sighed and spoke of how he adored this visage, "She is the only woman who has never betrayed me and keeps me safe at night. Yes, you may photograph her." He watched me as I took her image for my own.
"Where are you from?" He asked with hopeful eyes.
"I am a citizen of the world." I responded automatically.
"That's what I say all of the time!" He answered excitedly. I smiled and bowed to this man. "Thank you for letting me photograph the woman you love. She will never change and will always be beautiful. I cannot say that much for myself."
All people have a story. I have found that I continue to travel and see the beauty of people. A lot of my friends and family have worried about this woman on her quest to travel and write. I have come to the realization that we all can contribute wonderful things to our history as a species or we can do terrible things. We have the power to create and destroy simultaneously.
I don't pretend to have all of the answers. I don't offer any advice. I don't write books that will tell you what to do. My documentations are that of the human observer. My propensity to create is driven from my need to write.
Life is about living it. It is about people. It has never been about oneself. You have to be a participant to fully get out of life what you really want to see...in your life. These are words that I live by. Yes, I have known horrible and terrible things as people have. However, those events have not taken the joy out of living for me.
I invite you to look at my work, and enjoy it.
There will be more as I continue my journey from Korea and then onward to Paris, Prague and then to China.
We all have this choice. Do what you want with your life, or die with regrets.
You only have today, you never possess tomorrow.