This morning I received a really nice comment left by Lauren. Lauren also left an URL with her comment so I immediately had to investigate. You see, there are a lot of people who leave comments on blogs which are truly just SPAM. They leave a link to their web page in hopes of just raising their standings in Google searches. It’s all done by computer robots and very annoying. But I have filters that weed out most of the SPAM. Anyway, whenever someone leaves a comment with a link to their webpage…you have to make sure they’re not spammers trying to sell whatever scam they think up next.

Well, Lauren is certainly not a SPAMMER and I really enjoyed reading her blog which details her adventure for a year to Thailand, specifically Bangkok, as an English teacher. She is 22 years old (Happy Belated Birthday!) so I would guess pretty fresh out of college, and like most 22 year olds she is still very actively exploring her thoughts about meaning in life, our purpose here if there really is one, and the direction she wants to take the rest of her life in.

But, what is great about reading Lauren’s blog is the refreshing youthful idealism and yearning to see the world that comes across one way or another. To break out of one’s conventional life and explore those areas that don’t have the comfort of familiarity is really a hard thing to do for most people. Certainly, traveling half way around the globe and taking a teaching position in a “third world” country is not for the faint of heart. But Lauren has braved doing without many of those things that we spoiled creatures of comfort often take for granted (like potable tap water and toilets that flush with the touch of a lever, and…..oh and yes……family), and landed herself in a new world where a new perspective on life will inevitably manifest during the time she is there.

I really see Lauren and other young people like her, those who take time out of their life to explore the rest of the world a bit, as great ambassadors. They eventually become a bridge between the different cultures they have crossed to, and people on both sides benefit in so many ways. In this country, we desperately need more young people like her and the friends she will meet along the way.

Before I sign off, I really wanted to share a very thought provoking quote that I read on Lauren’s blog. It made me think about a lot of things, including my photography and my business.

“We are not made for the mountains, for sunrises, or for the other beautiful attractions in life- those are simply intended to be moments of inspiration. We are made for the valley and the ordinary things of life, and that is where we have to prove our stamina and strength” – Oswald Chambers

I think what I try to do is capture those moments that inspire us in one way or another. Maybe these captured images relate something beautiful that we have never seen before, or perhaps show it to us in a different way. Or maybe they remind us of a time or place that was a “sunrise” in our life, our personal moment of inspiration. Hopefully, the beautiful things in our life, the people we love, the special times we’ve lived and the wonderful places we have seen, can be an inspiration that sustains us as we live the ordinary.

So Lauren, thanks for stopping by my blog. It was really nice meeting you and maybe our footpaths will cross one day. Actually, reading your blog has made me a little “homesick” for Thailand and the rest of Asia. I wasn’t quite sure whether you had been able to look at my website as it does require high speed internet, something that even the big cities in Asia haven’t quite caught onto yet. So I am going to post some of my favorite shots taken there. See if you recognize any of these places!

Kemper

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And finally, regarding the aforementioned toilets that have levers that flush FOR you, this is an example of a fairly luxury public toilet in Bangkok. Why luxury?

It had a lid!