There is something incredible about exploration. My father had a fascination with the memoirs of mountaineers, he loved to travel and would drive our family across France and Italy to admire the changing landscapes.

As an adult, I never lost my wonder for adventure but it became dormant, a sleeping presence locked away.

There are some moments in life where you feel you’ve ‘arrived’ yet after I received a long-desired promotion I realised it wasn’t what I wanted…and found myself a year later blurting out to my boss I was handing in my notice to move to Australia.

Gertrude Bell and Freya Stark did not follow the traditional life trajectory of marriage. These incredible women pursued a very different path for themselves.

As a single girl, their stories are something I devour because in the times where I have floundered in doubt or self-pity it sharpens my awareness that life contains unwritten possibilities. Whilst it is completely legitimate to feel, it is dangerous when those feelings start to entangle our spirit, or define who we are.

Physically leaving my sphere was the healthiest decision I ever made, it changed my perspective and granted me a desperately-needed fresh start.

Plunging myself head-first into the unknown was frightening, but familiarity had grown into a toxic wasteland that held no passion or excitement. Whilst the wide-open road doesn’t contain readily-available answers, clear signposts or even obvious destinations, what it does provide is a space to pursue the new.

I haven’t given up necessarily on a lasting relationship, I am learning in this nomadic season to romance my own soul. 

by Alice Dyson