step, step, leap

I stayed up too late again reading Freya Stark's biography, Passionate Nomad. She kept a base in Italy but spent months and years at a time traveling in the Middle East. Eventually writing and mapmaking for the Royal Geographical Society. The best thing about her was that at first her wanderings and inquiries were rather formless and vague (learning for learning's sake), not to say that she wasn't completely determined and a hard worker, she just didn't see the shape of what she was doing until her late 30s. This is inspiring and a consolation! I forget life is long in many ways and it's important to go at one's own pace. I have a tendency to become obsessed with overly interested in stories about very young artists and photographers who are making work and having much success very early. At the same time, I resist speed and snappy communication at every turn.
I'm learning to play the piano for the first time at age 33, I'm not in a hurry, and I cherish the silence and concentration that I find in between each note. Allowing myself to be a beginner, and move forward step by step. I'd like to find ways to bring the same patience and enjoyment of the process into my photography work, which feels like it's in a big hurry.