When many of us are younger, we tend to have fears that are fairly common to children. Perhaps we are afraid of the dark or things that go bump in the night. Other children have a fear of heights or perhaps of being left alone without their parents nearby. In any case, it can be limiting but not all children suffer from those same fears.
Andrew Ling was one of those children who didn’t have the common fears of other children. He did have a fear, however, and it was one that carried into his adulthood. He was afraid that he might run out of time and that everything he wanted to see would go by too quickly for him to be able to see it. Now that he is 23 years old, Andrew is traveling the world and we all benefit from it.
The digital world that we live in tends to put us in a spell and lock us into a certain mindset. It is not difficult to get caught up in that mindset, especially with all of the information that continues to come our way.
In our desire to focus, many of us tend to look beyond the things that are most important.
We live on a beautiful planet with absolutely everything that we need to live a full and satisfying life. It is seen in the natural world as well as in the man-made world. Quite simply, the world is huge and we are a small part of it.
When Andrew travels the world, he takes pictures that help to put things in perspective. He zooms out from the scenery and uses people as a silhouette for scale.
When you view the pictures that he takes of the world, you can begin to feel as if the world is just a little bit smaller and perhaps even more obtainable. Sometimes it is difficult to remember that we are the small ones.
It is sometimes necessary to remind ourselves of how small we are before we can appreciate the grand scale of things.
“Growing up, I had never seen anything like these beautiful places before,” he said. “So when I did, it was life-changing … literally.”
He takes pictures of himself or other travelers that he meets while he is going from one place to another. They are there for the same reason, to take in the view.
When you take a step back and focus on the larger picture, it can help you to re-focus on your goals in life.
There certainly is a lot to see
When you look at his Instagram, you see that there are many majestic landscapes that he has captured and photographs along the way.
“To think that people actually spend their daily lives in a place that we often travel thousands of miles to see is mind-blowing,” he said. “In Chile, I found some of the most genuine and beautiful people I have ever met. Directly and indirectly, they reminded me not to just create things in life, but to create memories and experiences as well.”
Andrew freezes time with his photography and he tries to motivate others to try new things and to meet new people.
Perhaps he says it best when he says:
“One day you will wake up, and there will not be enough time to do the things you have always wanted to do.”
“Do them now; you’ll never be as young again as you are in this very moment. ”
Via: Upworthy
Be sure to share this with your friends on Facebook