Early in 2019 it was becoming apparent that a huge film project I had spent the previous two-and-a-half years on was fizzling. Our money was running out, team calls were becoming more infrequent and unfocused, and the “no’s” were starting to take their toll on all of us.
When it finally dissolved I found myself in a creative void that only time could resolve. My wife and I decided to travel and travel we did. We went to London for ten glorious days and a few months later we flew to Amsterdam and spent a few weeks right in the heart of the city. It was like a dream come true and I still reminisce about having afternoon tea and the Savoy and awesome hospitality we were shown by some of the locals (many of whom are here on Hive).
Having the worst case of wanderlust of anyone I know I had been preparing for most of my life. I vicariously satisfied my travel bug for decades through shows like Anthony Bourdain’s “No Reservations”, “Parts Unknown” and anything by Rick Steves.
More recently I had gotten into a whole new generation of travelers like Simon Wilson, Tangerine Travels, the Vaga Brothers, and Kara and Nate on YouTube. The positivity of Kara and Nate's channel has continued to be a bright spot and inspiration for me throughout the pandemic. Thanks for that you two! Our own whirlwind year of criss-crossing the globe was surreal and exhilarating for us, we craved more. Much more.
About mid way through the Amsterdam trip I began to think about starting my own travel channel on YouTube. What better than to make this passion my new career and eventually have it finance our global tour? I decided I could do it.
Throughout the remainder of 2019 and early 2020 we continued our adventures. We traveled to St. Thomas then took an epic road trip down to Sedona and spent a few weeks hiking the red rock desert. By that point I had all of the equipment I needed picked out and started taking online video editing courses.
As we were traveling back from Sedona in February of 2020 we started seeing stories on the news about viral outbreaks on cruise ships. In the four days it took us to get back home to Minnesota the news of the virus got much more serious. The next day we went to a friend’s birthday celebration and shortly after this the quarantines and lock downs began. Then came the toilet paper shortages, the fights over vaccinations and mask wearing, the isolation, a watershed of disinformation and conspiracy theories.
Due to the travel restrictions our wings were effectively clipped so I switched gears and decided to write/publish Mindful Moments and Ephemera. Thankfully those two books were received well by readers. Now I’m working on my newest novel until we can start traveling again. Thankfully those first two projects have worked out well and have kept me busy enough to keep my sanity. My wife and I were some of the lucky ones, many people’s livelihoods were destroyed by this virus.
Aside from that career aspect of my life Covid-19 has transformed our personal lives more than anything else I can remember. We lost my Dad to the virus in November of last year. Our relationships with our friends have changed drastically as well. Except for a small handful of close friends, the continuity of many of our friendships has been severed and feels different now. I don’t know if some of those ties will ever be restored, maybe in time. The pandemic has changed people’s priorities.
It’s difficult to put into words but the entirety of life feels very different at this point of the pandemic. Do you feel that too? Covid-19 feels like it created this huge canyon and if we look far enough in the distance behind us we can still see what life was like before it. I can’t believe how relatively carefree life was back then in the “good old days” despite all of the chaos and stressors we had.
Lately, I keep seeing articles in the mainstream media about a “New Roaring 20’s”. About how the pandemic will usher in a carefree decade of decadence like the decade after the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918. This seems like wishful thinking to me. Maybe that's exactly what we need. We will see if that happens but I’m not that optimistic.
That’s another thing I’m working on regaining, my optimism. As for future plans, they still seem difficult to pin down. It still feels like we’re in this strange state of limbo. I know that in time we will learn how to put these horrific years behind us and heal ourselves. Some other version of life will eventually sprout from these ashes. I hope it’s as wonderful, vibrant, and weird as the one that came before it.
All for now.
With Gratitude,
Eric Vance Walton
Poetry should move us, it should change us, it should glitch our brains, shift our moods to another frequency. Poetry should evoke feelings of melancholy, whimsy, it should remind us what it feels like to be in love, or cause us to think about something in a completely different way. I view poetry, and all art really, as a temporary and fragile bridge between our world and a more pure and refined one. This is a world we could bring into creation if enough of us believed in it. This book is ephemera, destined to end up forgotten, lingering on some dusty shelf or tucked away in a dark attic. Yet the words, they will live on in memory. I hope these words become a part of you, bubble up into your memory when you least expect them to and make you feel a little more alive.
Pick up a copy of Ephemera today on Amazon.
Most of us have experienced a moment of perfect peace at least once in our lives. In these moments we lose ourselves and feel connected to everything. I call these mindful moments. Words can’t describe how complete they make us feel.
These moments are usually fragile, evaporating in seconds. What if there was a way to train your mind to experience more of them? It’s deceptively easy and requires nothing more than a subtle shift in mindset. My new book, Mindful Moments, will teach you to be much more content despite the chaos and imperfect circumstances continuing to unfold around you. Upgrade your life experience today for only $15.99 on Amazon.com.
