It felt weird writing 31/31, and timely, too. As I reflected on this past month, there were so many sentiments I wanted to talk about. My personal growth, which was tremendous. The amount I learned about my craft. The amount of new skills I acquired. The amount of spider webs I walked into, and so on.

What stood out most, though, was the word commitment. I kept coming back to it. Sure, the commitment is obvious: I committed to 31 days of content. A photo, video and blog every day. That’s 93 pieces of content in one month. It is a commitment in every sense of the word. But the word commitment feels hollow if I don’t pair it with community.

I am part of this community, and you are, too. Every day I woke up with a desire to share my life, my unfolding story, with anyone who wanted to listen. Because, at the end of the day, I am not creating solely for myself. I am creating to unleash my imagination, to understand myself more deeply, but also, and equally important to me, is that I am creating for those who feel they cannot. I am creating for those who need to feel connected, who need to feel those two most beautiful words rising in their throat:

Me too.

Thank you for your support this month. This image is a representation of how I have felt – held up by hands stronger than my own. I owe you.

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Today is the last day to sign up for the 15 Day Content Creation Challenge. We begin tomorrow! This is a creativity challenge for any type of artist. You will receive a 52-page e-book, content creation chart, daily challenges and emails, and a supportive Facebook group. And, there is no set cost. You pay only what you can. And 40% goes to charity, so win-win! Registration closes at 5:00pm PST, and emails begin at 5:00am PST on August 1st!

We arrived in Thailand late at night and quickly crawled into our hotel beds and went to sleep. When morning came, my excitement was bursting to get out of that hotel, despite how lovely and welcoming it was. All I wanted was to get in the van that would take us to the elephants. At 8:00am on the dot the van pulled up and we gathered into the back rows, settling for our 90 minute ride to the Elephant Nature Park outside of Chiang Mai, Thailand.

I am a very big believer in kind treatment to all animals, and have long known of the suffering of elephants at the hands of humans. I wanted to help if I could when in that region and so we made the trip from Cambodia to Thailand to see what good we could do. The truth is, just going to the nature park was help, since the money goes to taking care of the elephants. But the more we could do, the better. I chose Elephant Nature Park very carefully, since a lot of elephant parks say they are taking care of elephants when they are actually using them as a tourist attraction. My rules were to find parks that 1) rescued elephants, and 2) didn’t allow people to ride them. This was one of two that I found in my search, and in doing so became inspired by the person who runs it as well. Lek, a woman on a mission, began saving elephants who were being mistreated and started Elephant Nature Park, a sanctuary for injured and abused elephants. She now has more than 60 elephants, as well as many other animals, too – like hundreds of dogs, cats, water buffalo, and more.

To say this was a dream for me is an understatement. One of the only things I care more about than photography and art is saving animals, so I felt very at home. We started our tour by walking through the park and visiting the elephants, who have many, many acres to roam on. Each elephant has a mahout who has been trained to use verbal cues, never hurting the elephants, to herd them when needed. Otherwise, they take care of them day after day, tirelessly. We learned their names and got to touch a couple of them. We looked on as they bathed themselves in the river, splashed in mud, ate and played together. Elephants travel in families, and that was really heartwarming to see. At times the family (some adopted!) would circle around the baby when they felt threatened and slap their trunks on the ground as a warning. It was an amazing, prehistoric sight to behold.

We feasted there like we would never have believed, each meal having more than 20 separate vegan dishes to choose from. I was absolutely spoiled. Our rooms were just as amazing, mosquito nets hanging gracefully over our beds, windows surrounding us. Elephants would pass by our windows as they were led down the paths. Birds of many varieties could be heard in the trees, and dogs barked when they played with one another nearby.

I stood against the railing of my deck, pressing myself into it and leaning over the edge as an elephant passed under me. The sun dabbled through the thick branches and created a haze where it escaped. Each step the elephant took dust escaped the ground and flooded the light. I felt my heart beating to the rhythm of the footsteps, and each breath became a exhale of dust into the world. I can’t help but feel a part of something, incredibly connected to the world around me in those moments.

Our time at the sanctuary brought many highs. We were fortunate enough to listen to Lek give a speech about elephant cruelty and welfare, and what we can do to help. She also spoke passionately about the well-being of all animals, and that really sang to my heart. We watched children do traditional Thai dances as we ate our dinner that overlooked the sanctuary from up in a tree-house. We bathed the elephants in the river, and bathed ourselves in the process! We fed the elephants watermelon and pumpkin and bananas. We floated down the river in tubes, passing locals on the way and elephants drinking the water we shared.

Our time was over so quickly, but we treasured it beyond words. We boarded an evening flight to Bangkok and got in very late, arriving to our flat at 1:00am and crashing quickly. The next day we went exploring for a nice, healthy restaurant we could all enjoy, and ended up at an amazing one that we savored. After that it was off to a cooking class that I had been very excited for, though my dear Lindsay was less excited. I had never really cooked anything prior to 4 years ago, but since then I took a liking to it and cook all of my meals when I’m home. I’m not good at it, but I love it. Lindsay was nervous, which kind of excited me because it isn’t often I get to throw her into something uncomfortable. So I promised to take care of her as we cooked, which meant, obviously, that I abandoned her and took pictures while she was forced to throw ingredients into the wok.

In the end, the food was the best we had on our whole trip, and we each got to make three dishes! It felt really amazing to actually make pad thai in Thailand! After that we explored the street markets and got souvenirs, Lindsay and I getting matching shirts and pants. The next day we went early to a floating market, and though it wasn’t all I hoped it would be, it was an interesting look at the culture and way of life. I got a bow and arrow as a take-home, but when I got to the airport it was immediately confiscated. That’s what I get for only bringing a backpack with me!

Our Thai adventure was over, but I wasn’t finished traveling. I was going back to India with Amy and Laura to start the school I dreamed up a couple years ago, The Light Space. And open the school we did.

I’ll be sharing Part 3 of my adventure (in India!) soon…

All images were taken by Lindsay Adler.

What we can’t guess at is how they got to the top. Was it a tough climb or an easy ride, air lifted to the top? The answer is irrelevant. Regardless of how it happened, they got there. And similarly, you can choose to climb or ride. The only difference is that the ride may never come.

Sometimes we lie to ourselves by reassuring our injured egos that a person who has accomplished more was simply given a break, and they didn’t work hard to get there. This is usually a lie, and even if it wasn’t, it has no impact on your life or your journey. Because while there are many ways to get to the top of your mountain, there is only one way that you can choose…to climb.

There is a certain song that we sing, sometimes without realizing that our voice escapes our clenched throat, that vibrates through the air, noiseless, until it beats against the place it was meant to find. The lyrics are without words yet speak to a place inside where the voiceless booming of magnetic poetry carves itself in deep. Words are not necessary in this song. It is a pounding mystery. The ocean beating rocks against one another, or the crack of thunder. It carries inside itself a booming melancholy, or a rich light, and when we hear it (for only we can) we know it to be true. Such is the way with certain places. We release a song and hear nothing until it hits hard the place that makes it sing. Such is the way with humans. Such is the way with the soul.

Iceland – June 4th 2015 – 9:00pm

We arrived at the lava rocks with both joy and sadness. It was our last stop for our 5-day adventure together. The friends that I loved would be departing the next day and right then, in those few hours, we would spend our last moments creating art together. I stepped out on the rocks for the first time and bounced. I felt like a child, touching and smelling something for the first time. We rejoiced at so many things that evening – the way the clouds continuously changed, each calling to one another to look in different directions, each of us in awe. We jumped from rock to rock, holding hands, calling out, and laughing. We each strayed off by ourselves for brief moments, taking it all in. And I went with one of my best friends to shoot a private series.

The cold lessened that evening more so than the other days. We felt warm with life and excitement and so creating art nude and exposed felt easier than other times – more comforting. Soon enough we were barefoot, letting the moss tickle in between our toes, and I was glowing with inspiration. When I was photographing my friend, I wondered if the power that we felt would translate in a single image. There are times when I wish I could bring the viewer to the shoot, make them (you) feel the air and touch the ground and let your heart beat to the rhythm of that creativity. But in the moment, knowing there is no way to translate such a feeling, I had to settle for doing the best I could with what I had – a powerful woman nestled in the heart of all hearts, the soft ground covering the dangerous lava rocks in the land of fire and ice.

And so I created five images in a series, making her body look like the landscape. I photographed the first image and asked if I could keep going, changing my angle each time to create a triptych of the same model in nearly the same poses from three different angles. I photographed one pose of her reaching for the camera. At first it spoke to me as someone who needed to be rescued, but the more I looked at her reaching there in that place, I felt she was beckoning to me. Pulling me in and telling me to stay forever in this place where my heart sang more than ever before. Finally at the end of the shoot the inspiration fever had caught on, and Jen asked if she could join the shoot, which I was absolutely delighted about. And so I ended the session with both of them there in that powerful place, a finale to a poetic and emotional day.

Model, Images 1-5: KD Stapleton
Model, Image 5: Jen Brook

“I’m going to jump in there,” I told myself.

The day before these things always seem like a grand idea, the type that happens in movies but rarely in our real lives. A fantastic gesture, a willingness to take hold of your own destiny. Movie characters amaze us in this way. We strive to be more like them, but rarely do we go through with it.

I wondered why I was doing this. I wondered if it was really worth it. I wondered why I ever put my self through these situations. Yet still, I set up my camera, put a beautiful dress on, and steadied my breathing. I didn’t want to jump in that water. I had no desire in that moment to do it. And that is precisely why I knew I had to.

And so I jumped…or rather, waddled awkwardly across the rocks that stood in my way at the shoreline. And when I got to where I wanted to take a picture, I sat down in the water, splashing my way in, and took a deep breath before laying my head back. I was only in that freezing water for a minute, or maybe even less. It was almost too much. It tested me. It pushed my limits. And then I was out, getting back to dry land as fast as I could, the first rays of sun just barely kissing the mountain peak in the distance.

Even after we drove away and left the lake behind us my toes were still burning from the cold, and I thought, at first, that I didn’t enjoy the experience. I don’t like jumping in cold water. But then again, that was never the point. The point was not to enjoy myself or to feel good or to buy into another guilty pleasure. The point was to create an adventure, to push myself, and to do something that I would remember. All of those things happened. And in doing so, my definition of who I am as a person expanded. Suddenly I was who I had been, and now I was more, too.

If I had slept in that morning, not gone camping the night before, and waded blindly through my morning routine, would I have been fundamentally changed? Probably not. But now, because I created an adventure, I wrote new lines in the story of my life that are worth reading. And I am a better person for it.

I challenge you to go jump in some water – any time of day, any body of water – be as creative as you like. Video tape yourself and share that video with me, and if I receive 50 video submissions I will donate $100 to one of the charities listed on this site in the Giving Back section.
Use the hashtag #PassionPlunge.

The second retreat is an hour outside of Milan, Italy from July 6-10, 2015. When I found the mansion we’ll be creating at there was no way I could turn it down. I immediately exclaimed: “I hope someone comes and shares this with me!”. The house that is booked for our living accommodations is super luxurious (totally opposite of what I’m used to booking into!) and I can’t wait to see it in person.

                                                          Flayosc, FRANCE                                 Milan, ITALY
                                                          May 21-25, 2015                                   July 6-10, 2015
                                                          $2,450                                                     $2,800

www.brookeshaden.com/workshops

Both prices include all expenses while at retreat (living, food, locations, transportation, etc…). Travel to our living accommodations is the responsibility of attendee.

The difference between the retreats is that attendees share rooms (2 per room) in France whereas each attendee gets their own room in Italy.

The information packet details everything from our itinerary to addresses and info about the content of the retreat. If you decide to join me, be ready for an adventure and discovery of inner-inspiration. And lots of hugs. Always lots of hugs <3

The FRANCE location:

The ITALY location:

I instructed all of the retreat attendees to be up by 5AM and ready to go on a partially moonlit 45-minute walk to a waterfall where, at sunrise, we would all jump in. Needless to say, I wasn’t entirely sure what the turnout would be.

But, to my surprise, everyone gathered at about 5:15AM and we began our walk to the waterfall. They didn’t know what to expect. I had scouted the location before and, since I was in complete awe, I knew they would love it. As we walked a few people came up to me and said, “But we aren’t really jumping in, are we?” To which I replied, “Do I look like I’m joking?”

And I wasn’t. When we got to the waterfall we lined up on the edge, some holding hands, and I counted to three.

1…2………..3!

And we jumped. We didn’t think about the consequences and we didn’t try to think about the shock of it all. We just did it. We climbed to the edge and we jumped in water so cold it was shocking, but also exhilarating. We screamed and clung to one another and tested our limits. And when we were finished, we felt like we could do anything.

That is the beauty of being in the moment and truly being present in your life. You take each challenge as it comes, and you find yourself more and more grateful for the small moments that make up our life story.

Every moment we have is a gift, and to fully appreciate those gifts we must recognize each one as being unique, individual, and inspiring. No one else can be responsible for making your life incredible. By becoming present and focused on the task at hand, there is less time to talk yourself out of adventures, or to dwell on past events. By thinking presently, we are training ourselves in the art of gratitude.

Life is one big story, and if we don’t choose to live it we are choosing to write the same story again and again. Take a moment today to do something that excites, inspires, or invigorates you. Do something unusual. Do something that you love. And above all, promote your passion, for doing so will write the most meaningful lines of the story of your life.

Model: Jen Brook <– Lovebug!

I believe that adventure is the heart of our lives, and that everyone lives adventure differently. I feel most alive when I do something that scares me, but on a greater level, I simply try to live my life as a character in an interesting story.

Three things I do to keep adventure in my life:

1. Write myself into a story. I make believe that I am a character in a unique world, and then I use that inspiration to create art out of it. This way I get to see myself becoming a character, often through some type of self-portraiture, and I get to imagine a new life even if only briefly.

2. I get lost. I get in my car and go, or start walking and see where I end up. I love finding new places and losing that sense of control that comes from following a GPS.

3. I face my fears. I spend a lot of time figuring out what I’m afraid of and why, and then I go out and conquer those things that scare me. I love to overcome my fears in this way, and those experiences always end up being the most adventure-filled, and the most worthy.

What will you do this week to add ADVENTURE into your life?

Don’t just go on an adventure, live your life as an adventure!

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