21 Days of Thankfulness

Today I am thankful for travel. I think a lot of people take travel for granted and believe it is strictly to far off destinations. Many people consider that when I talk about travel I only am referring to abroad because of my somewhat extensive resume of foreign locales that I have been to. But many people forget that travel includes so much more; the commute to work, the walk to the bathroom to brush your teeth, the trip to the grocery store, etc. Travel is everywhere and it's appreciating those trips as much as the big ones to faraway places that makes you realize how vital travel is to us as human beings. It is overlooked and under-valued. People who get the "travel bug" don't realize that they probably do travel each and everyday, and it's a matter of simply recognizing it and filling that void. Yes, I miss traveling internationally, but I can still connect with other types of trips and travel within my everyday life.

For instance, everyday I read National Geographic(Traveler) to and from work... while traveling. It makes me long for the times when I could pack up my bag with a couple pairs of underwear, two pairs of shorts, some sunglasses, couple shirts and sandals and head to some remote location and soak it in. That was the life. But I fill my void with reading about travel and appreciating the beauty of domestic travel. Today, I don't live the life of a foreign backpacker anymore, but I still enjoy the daily commute and the life that I see around me. I find it enjoyable and eye opening.

Holding discussions with people on the bus to work, clicking through thousands of old photographs of past trips in intense nostalgia, interacting with the world outside of my house, or even the planning of future trips and destinations are what I thrive off of. As some may that you wear your passions on your sleeve, I say that I recognize my passion and fulfill it in some way each day. I am truly thankful for the gift of travel and how much it means to me. I look forward to integrating more of my life with travel whether it be in writing, photography, or some other facet, but I know that if that day comes when I am presented with that pristine job, I know that my entire life has been resume building in travel experience.
So thank you, travel.

(To give anyone some motivation to get up and "Move", watch the video below)

"Life, Love and Pursuit Of..." gallery premiering Oct. 3rd

"As free human beings we can use our unique intelligence to try to understand ourselves and our world. But if we are prevented from using our creative potential, we are deprived of one of the basic characteristics of a human being."  ~ His Holiness the Dalai Lama

My largest and most exciting photography gallery Life, Love and Pursuit Of: Daily Interactions with the World will be premiering on Monday October 3rd, at Brewer's Art. The gallery graciously has asked for me to fill their entire back dining room with over 20 large photos from my collection and will have the gallery up until January. Brewer's Art will be providing free appetizers and happy hour drink prices all night for the event and will also include a free print of one of the images from the gallery, given randomly to anyone who attends the event. So you get to come look at some great images and hear the stories behind them, eat some delicious food for free, drink Baltimore's best beers for cheap, and potentially win a free piece of art. That doesn't sound too terrible, right?

I have put in more time, money, countless hours of lost sleep, energy, and extreme amounts of patience to make this gallery. It is one that I am incredibly proud of and cannot wait to show everyone. My motivation and inspiration behind this exhibit was one that I found while traveling throughout Asia and Africa over the past three years. I realized that I wanted to capture daily life, whether it be doing a job shift, at home with family, traveling around the country, or celebrating your passions. Every person lives their lives in an unique and interesting way, and I only hoped to have captured some of those idiosyncrasies to show that although living on completely different ends of the planet, everyone has love, everyone has emotions, everyone has the pursuit of something important to them; ie- money, peace, happiness, etc. But overall, it's life. We are all living life and this gallery is to celebrate that.

One of the best parts about finalizing this exhibit and waiting for the materials to arrive is that today (September 20th) is World Peace Day. This gallery hopes to give, show, spread peace to people that see the images and are somehow affected by them. Remember that peace is not just a liberal-minded belief or unreachable attainment. Peace can be found within yourself and within the world, I only hope that this gallery may guide you towards that peaceful direction.

"Because we all share this planet earth, we have to learn to live in harmony and peace with each other and with nature. This is not just a dream, but a necessity." ~ His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Be sure to head to my website michaeltirone.com and take a look at just a few images that will be displayed at the Life, Love, and Pursuit Of... gallery (I obviously can't show you them all!) Also remember to sign the virtual guestbook on the website AND the actual guestbook once you get to Brewer's Art on Monday, October 3rd!