[Photo Blog]Through Awen's Lens: Part 1 - Into The West

I'm a dreamer. I've spent the majority of my life exploring vast fantasy worlds in my mind and well-loved books. Imagining trees so tall you can't even see them all by looking upwards, sunlight that dances and twirls between mossy trunks and overgrown ferns, mushrooms decorating fallen logs and if you stand just still enough, you can hear faeries laughing in the distance just out of sight. It was time for my adventure. It was time to find that sacred forest i'd imagined for so long. So, me and my soulmate Greg said yes to a unique opportunity that would take us all the way across the country. We sold our belongings, said goodbye to the people we knew, and set off into the West.

Our destination was Oregon. Through his savvy networking skills, Greg had found a unique group of like minded people who are working to provide the planet and humanity with solutions and support systems to transition to a debt-free, abundant and healthy world; Earth Nation. Their (Heart)quarters is located just outside Eugene, Oregon and they had an opportunity we couldn't pass up. It was a chance to do good in the world, to become our greatest selves, and travel! We would be flying from Syracuse, NY to Eugene, OR. We had one very, very short layover where we had to run from one end of the airport to the other and just barely made our connecting flight (I recommend you triple check layover times lol woops). It was more than worth it, the views from this second flight were astounding! Most notably the view of the Rocky Mountains. Our second layover in Seattle, WA was much more comfortable and we were able to grab a really nice meal at the Seattle Taproom in the SEA-TAC airport.

I HIGHLY recommend the sparkling pear cider! :p

Upon arriving in Eugene, we were met by Teahna and Prism (and of course his amazing hippie van). Teahna is the Writing Coordinator at Earth Nation. Greg and I had been working under her remotely from home before we decided to move out here and be a part of the action. The four of us piled in his van and as a socially anxious person, I was overjoyed at how organically we all made conversation. I had a really good vibe about the future to come.

When we arrived at our final destination I was absolutely floored at the scene that lay before me. Remember that forest I'd been dreaming of my whole life? I had found it. (stay tuned for Part 2 and pictures of the Faerie Forest!) We pulled up outside the office. I had only seen the inside of the small building from prior video calls, but it felt so good be there in person. This is where life changing work was being done, and we were going to be a part of it!

We were greeted with so much love. There were so many hugs and kind words shared. After even more hugs, we made our way up to the building we would call home for the foreseeable future. The Heartquarters is situated on a 60 acre property, and there are a ton of buildings with infinite potential. We would be staying in a room in Carman Hall. Its a cozy building nestled in the trees with beautiful architecture.

We felt so blessed to not only be offered the chance to be part of an initiative to change the world, but to work side by side with beautiful people in such a fantastic setting. There was so much we wanted to explore, so many people we wanted to get to know, but after traveling for 15 hours, it would have to wait until morning. I knew one thing for sure; we were home.

Thanks for taking a look at the beginning of my adventure! Stay tuned for the next part, The Faerie Forest! If you have enjoyed my story and photography, please upvote, follow, and resteem! :)

Peace and love!

Awen /|\