Spy Travelogue
I was en route from JFK – TPE via NRT and at some point during this uber-long flight, my addled brain, said, “You are on your way somewhere!”
Clearly I am overworked and not really thinking clearly for this to be a novel thought.
Then my brain cued the recent interview with Dan Winters, “there is a misconception, especially that students have and I really make a point when I speak at schools to talk about the fact that you never really arrive. You are always working towards something but you never stop. I think there is this crazy idea that you get somewhere and then everything is cool.”
I recently had dinner with a friend at The Dutch, a new restaurant by Andrew Carmellini. When we first walked into the dinning room, I saw AC and I introduced myself, as my brother is AC’s Chef de Cuisine. We complimented him on how beautiful the restaurant looks and AC replied, “We are still trying to figure it out.” Then we sat down to one of the best dinners I’ve had in NYC. Jeremy remarked at the end of the meal, “I think AC has it figured out, that was an incredible meal.”
Dan Winter, one of the most sought after commercial photographers today.
Andrew Carmellini, one of the best Chefs in NYC.
We are all on our way somewhere, we are all working towards something.
At the recent Affordable Art Fair where my fellow spy and partner Kesha Bruce and I were exhibiting and selling, one of our artists came to the fair and asked us, “How does it feel to be in an art fair?”
It was a question that never dawned on either of us. It never occurred to us that it was a milestone, a marker of accomplishment in our careers. I remember attending my first Armory show a few years back and wishing for the day when my work would be brought to fairs by galleries. AAF is not the Armory, but it is a marker, an achievement. Kesha and I were so focused on observing, learning and upping our game that it never occurred to us that we’d just climbed another peak in our careers.
We got to a milestone, but there is more to figure out, there is more do to, more to learn. There will always be the next big thing, the next milestone, the next destination.
We are all on our way somewhere. The most amazing part is that we get to decide where we are headed and where we want to go.
Now…where are you headed? Physically, emotionally, with your career and your life?!
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8 Responses to We are all on our way somewhere
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Charlie vs Charlie
[...] is coming but we are not powerless. We get to decide which page we want to turn to. This is our adventure. A year from now, things will be radically different for me and you, that is a [...]
I read an article today about people not enjoying stuff as much as they enjoy experiences.
That elusive ‘place’ we are headed in this life is another way of chasing stuff when we only truly love the chase. Its like wanting that perfect room from out of the magazine.
Thats just a picture, isn’t the fun part getting to spend your life ‘trying out’ new rooms?
Love this post. Love your writing. Looking forward to seeing more of your journey!
I hope as more and more people understand to value experience more than owning objects, we will shift to a less materialist society.
Is that too much to hope for?!
I’ve found there to be a freedom in settling into this knowing. Less pressure on the future, more presence on the moment. Thank you for wrapping it up so eloquently. Stay at it, Charlie Grosso. Your words and your work leave love in the world. We need more of that. More of you.
There really is a freedom to be found in that thought. I surprise myself constantly with how much our interaction and reaction to the external world changes by simply changing the way we think about it. Thanks for reading!
[...] We are all on our way somewhere – a profound blog post that applies to artists in all practices, and definitely applies to photographers. We found it rather inspirational and well-worth the time to read. [...]
It’s taken me almost 40 years to figure this out for myself. Once a realized this it really gave me a new sense of peace.
Once the type A in me accepted that there is never a there that I MUST NEED to get to, then, all of sudden, its okay. Yeah. Its okay.