Dianna Cates Dunn » Blog

Have you ever seen the popular bumper sticker that says "All who wander are not lost"? (It's one of my favorites) Well, whether you have or haven't matters not, because I have a feeling that many, if not most, artists have discovered this wonderful attitude when approaching their work. Wandering off the well known, well worn path is often a journey caused by a road block...mental or physical, a sense of adventure, a desire to discover something new, or as a desperate, last resort before chucking the creation you have been working on into the fire!

It can go like this:

You are traveling at a comfortable speed down the usual route to your destination. The weather has been pleasant, there isn't any road construction to slow things up, nor has there been any disastrous accident that could bring traffic to a halt. In fact, traffic is flowing so well, you set the cruise control, tune in to your favorite radio station and sit back to enjoy a pleasant trip.

Then it happens.

A sign catches your eye :' Route XYZ, Next Exit' You've been intrigued by the sign before but you've always had a time limitation with an appointment to make. This time, however, your curiosity is really peaked. (No one is expecting me to arrive at a particular time and I really have wondered what there is to see and do over there?) SO, you take the big leap and off you go.  Stop the cruise control, sit up straight and exit now! Here come the new and unknown......be alert and PAY ATTENTION.  Your adrenaline rises a notch and as you are about to chart territories unknown. YOU ARE EXCITED! (or is it just nerves?) Now that you are in unfamiliar territory you become fully alert and you know you'll have to read to all the signs you go by to determine how you will react to each one of them.  Oh sure, you can always turn around and go back to the tried, true and SAFE way to get where you think you need to go, but you don't want to do that, so you? Because there is so, so, SO much off the beaten track to be seen and experienced!

Could it be that you were in a rut and just didn't know it until now? Maybe. Could you stay the tried and true and ignore new and different routes? Sure. But why would you when you may find a new route to where ever you are headed that is more satisfying than the old way! Or, you may just fine an 'alternative' route to be used by you whenever you desire. What ever the case, taking a new way to your destination can make a radical impact on how you see your own journey and the journey of others. 

Being born in the west, having a car and driving long-very long- distances is pretty much a norm. Though not always demanded of us, exploring off the beaten path is easily done and usually encouraged. Roads and trails, no matter how bumpy, in my experience always lead to a new discovery. So, go wander and stop worrying about getting lost!