On Sunday I shared a photo from my archives with paid subscribers. It was of the South West Coast Path, winding its way up the distant cliffs, a line of pale white. I wrote about the power of the path in imagery, and how compelling I find it to photograph. I ended by asking what paths my subscribers plan to walk this year.
At the time I meant it literally, I was asking if there are any public footpaths or national trails people plan to walk in the coming year. The answer of I got however, ‘A winding and overgrown path, alongside new and old companions’ reminded me of the powerful metaphor of the path.
I have spoken about my life, my career, as a path I am walking. What type of path it is depends on my emotions, how complicated life is, how challenging what I am doing is, how much I am enjoying myself. The path could be clear, wide, and sunny or thorny and hard. It could be through a woodland or across the cliff tops. Like real a public footpath it can even disappear for a moment. But still, I imagine myself walking it, or trying to.
The path is choices I make, the ones that lead me onwards.
Neil Gaiman, my favourite living writer and all round wonderful human being, has spoked of imagining:
‘that where I wanted to be – an author, primarily of fiction, making good books, making good comics and supporting myself through my words – was a mountain. A distant mountain. My goal. And I knew that as long as I kept walking towards the mountain I would be all right. And when I truly was not sure what to do, I could stop, and think about whether it was taking me towards or away from the mountain.’
I have always loved this image as it feels so like my path but has a far clearer destination in mind. Gaiman choices became the path he walked to the pinnacle of his mountain, one from which he has been enjoying the view for quite a while now, though I suspect he found other mountains beyond it, new goals, that keep him going.
My mountain, my goal, is to support myself through my art, to travel in my van, and to make work that helps in the fight against the climate crisis.
Everything I do is me walking towards my mountain, along my path. Right now, the choice I need to make to get me closer to my mountain, is to sit at my laptop and complete application after application. The first one was submitted yesterday (yippee!), the next one started only moments afterwards. If I describe what my path looks like right now it is a boring one: short grass over a flat field that stretches for miles, the sun pounding down, no shade in sight, and nothing to break up the monotony. But in the distance, I see trees and the shining sea, a road winding away to the horizon with my van parked waiting for me. If I keep walking this path, no matter how dull it is, I know I will get back to the exciting beauty of art and converting my van, and that hopefully, one or two of my applications will be successful and so result in the path taking me that much closer to my mountain.
What is your mountain? And is the path you are on right now leading you to it? Let me know in the comments!
I also love the path as an image of our ideal relationship with the environment; our mark is there, but it can be gentle and pleasing to the eye.
I’m walking toward a rooted life filled with community. I don’t know the route I’m taking or even my final destination, but I’m looking for it.