I have a terrible fear of the dark.
Needless to say, this does not do well with my love for the woods.
I imagine that by the time I reach old age, this fear will have sorted itself out and I will be, indeed, able to live in a little house in the woods.
Or trees in the backyard. Or near by.
I’m easy to please.
I like trees, and Totoro… but, i digress.

Today i would like you to come with me on an adventure. A truly magical one.
Outcome? Unknown.

Imagine we find a book, a pretty photography (you’re excited already, yes?) book, filled with images of nature. Cute little animals all going on about their lives in a place where nature is reclaiming its place. Upon closer inspection, you find the name of the photographer, as if a name could somehow tell you more about the feeling behind these pictures.

They belong to Kai Fagerström, who says “I am fascinated by the way nature reclaims spaces that were, essentially, only ever on loan to humans.”

Oh, you had me at squirrel!

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So we find this book, and I go on about how I have always had a sweet spot for urban ruins and abandoned homes. How my imagination runs wild on stories waiting to be told and my brain gets super excited at the mere thought of people willing to wait hours for the image they envisioned in their mind.

“Did you know…” I ask, ” I read that he usually starts off with a particular image in mind, that happens to me as well, you?”

You know this is not really a question, because there is no time for an answer as I continue, ” Sometimes, he achieves that relatively quickly. But it often takes a considerable time for all the elements to come together in just the right way. ‘This is fine with me,’ he says. ‘The journey is more important than the destination.’.”

I stop. This is important.

“The journey is more important than the destination”
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The sound of leaves and nature crackles under our feet and my voice blends in with the wind, just like background noise, it’s not offensive at all, I am just excited. I want to know more of this place in the woods, I want you to see it through my eyes, how I feel it.

Because you know, it’s not just visual, oh no, this is an experience for all senses.

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Do you smell the wet earth? I can almost feel the taste of the concrete, and the wood, oh there is a special feeling to old wood. I can see why the animals would feel drawn to abandoned houses. I wonder if they imagine stories about us humans, and question themselves on why do we wear fur over our fur.

I bet they giggle like crazy, and mice giggles must sound so funny that it makes other animals laugh, even without knowing where the laughter began. And as i’m about to get lost in the universe of small rodent giggles, the house calls out.
Here we are.

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Yes, we have arrived.
Each breath that we take has a thunderous sound. The silence of the forest is deafening.

Remember, we are only here for a visit, click, click.
We leave the magic to Kai.

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“He looked at me and sort of stamped his foot, as if to say, Go away, this is my place!”

We walk away, with a little magic of our own.
This is not the end of our adventure, far from it. This is the beginning.

Deep breaths.

I look up and smile, here is a journey I will not forget. Neither what led to it. I exchanged emails with Mr Fagerström about using his images and found it remarkable that it took him days to answer an email. There was beauty in that reply as if it had come by post. True to his way of shooting, his replies also took time and that made it all even more precious. An authorized request but really, I wish I could have exchanged real letters about real adventures.

“The journey is more important than the destination”

Now go outside and click.

Van