A Note from E:
The Next Chapter
This is a letter to the community. I am on a bit of a personal journey. An overdue and much needed reset, reconnect + rediscovery. Of myself.
The passions for the stories told vary. The places that have been trekked are different. But the roots of what Stranded on Land was always to be has come to be – a place for connection + exploring tied together through travel, nature and the outdoors.
Over the last 5 years, I’ve filled my time slightly obsessed with defining + flourishing a space, a place that felt like home outside of me. Seeking to connect with a collective of people who were seeking to live life the same.
Curiously, consciously + with determination. To live, not just exist.
To learn, from ignorances – their own and those that they became exposed to along the way.
To explore, nature and places unseen.
To share, the beauties, the passions, the experiences they’ve encountered on their own personal paths to self-discovery.
To seek, grow their comfort zones and expand.
And what I have collected along the way is a community of individuals spanning across the world. Tied together by these commonalities to explore, create + inspire.
I do realize that there are other blogs and websites of similar context that have grown bigger. Ones that have become more successful, more popular, more frequently read. And honestly – with reason, with strategy, with funding and with a community somewhat similar to our own. But as the first to take a leap and conceptualize this idea into action, I look at Stranded on Land and see that it has always been exactly what it was meant to be (for me).
The creation of this space has given me purpose, passion and a place to feel at and find home no matter where in the world or what point in my life I have been at – creatively, mentally, emotionally, or financially.
It has given me courage and security to unveil, discover, and dedicate to exploring, defining and co-creating my curiosities, skills, passions, and purpose in this big, busy world. The opportunity to be a leader, a teacher, a student. A reason to explore, to create.
Stranded on Land has taught me the value of vulnerability. What it is, what it means to expose yourself, and to trust that if you do, you will not only be seen but supported – with enthusiasm and love.
It’s true that everything in life is a lesson and we’re all on our own, personal journey. This space and the small community that has supported the life of the brand for the past few years as I ticked away fine-tuning what the platform is has taught me the invaluable lessons that will never be able to be replicated in the same ways.
These lessons have taught me to try. To trust. To live. To love. To fail. To share. To listen. To explore. To try again. To critique and question. They’ve taught me to challenge. To be louder. To be quieter. To encourage. To support. And to value. The lessons I’ve learned over this journey has taught me to give every ounce of my being – just to see what could happen. To be patient. So patient. And to rely on the process of time.
But mostly, what this all has taught me, given me, and allowed me to share is the power of the stories we can create and share.
To dedicate time to listening, learning and developing stories on, for, with, and through other people. Engulfing myself into these other lifestyles. Layering my words and visuals for effect.
I’ve learned to cut and edit, to listen and question, and to observe and wait. And debatably, most importantly, I’ve dumped my emotions, opened up my soul, and poured out my heart into these stories, no matter how big or small with a mission to inspire action. For the people sharing their stories, myself, and anyone who might happen to read them.
Today I sit here, a bit stagnate, feeling slightly crushed and a little crippled by the details of everyday life. I sip my coffee and release a slew of emotions I have been ignoring for months on end into my journal – pen to paper, marking this moment in time. I find myself challenged to be honest – to myself, to you all, and publicly.
I’ve spent the last months crumbling my outside world in search of my own grounding, clarity. Aching for consistency and trying so desperately to hold it together to keep trekking on this path for the sake of the community, while silently questioning my inner Euni.
What’s her story. Her why? What’s her purpose for discovery?
And every time, Stranded has become less of the answer and the longing to search for something else has become greater. A request from my soul has demanded more. And as the days continue to pass, this longing only grows. Over the last couple of months, as my workflow slowed in alignment with the changes of seasons, I’ve taken a step outside and turned around to look back in. And what I’ve discovered is that Stranded is becoming just what has always meant to be – without me. It has become a beautiful community of diverse humans putting themselves out to follow their passions, curiosities by courageously creating + sharing their own stories.
What a beautiful thing it has been to see.
And now, as my own personal story is evolving, I’m at a limbo as my soul is challenging me to expand. There’s a cry for a continuation of searching to develop and give into deeply hidden questioning. To follow more closely my mission for storytelling, but this time with a different foundation rooted in clarifying, sharing and owning bits of my own story.
And this cry leaves me torn, questioning.
What about Stranded on Land? What do I do with this? What do I do for all these people, their stories? Where do they go? What do they do? What do I DO if I’m not doing Stranded?
The answer for me is still unfolding. And, right now, I’ve decided to commit to really exploring this exposure of self-discovery, to move forward in honesty and integrity.
This space has guided my life and ruled my existence for the past 5 years. It has given me purpose beyond words. And, in some ways, it has saved, reshaped and empowered my life. But realistically, although it has impacted me so strongly, it has been collectively grown and perhaps, for you, this holds something else.
So I’ll ask you all, this small + curious community –
What is that you’re seeking to explore?
To create?
To share?
Do you crave to grow and inspire?
This was a vision I had, but ultimately, it has shaped into a reality because of each and every one of you. Contributors, brands, readers, and the background cheerleaders who woven any doubts or insecurities into a cape that allowed this idea to soar into a reality.
When I consider the people, the community and your stories – realistically, to some degree, this is also up to you. As, quite honestly, over the days and months past, it’s been shown and so proudly unveiled to me that this too is your platform. Your place. To explore. Create. Inspire. Connect.
This space is your place to call home.
This place, this platform, we have collectively grown so I would like to consider leaving it open for just that purpose. For the passionate, the curious. The brave souls on a journey to self-discovery as they explore, as they seek to create. This has become a place for consideration. Curation, growth, and evolution, shaped slowly as the answers unfold and the days pass. Or it can dissolve as a moment in time. A beautiful memory.
Either way, my heart is filled with gratitude as my purpose for this creation has been met. In the next weeks, I will prepare to find the right ways to step back from this a bit and move forward with discovering + diving into the other layers of my purpose within this lifetime. And as I do so, I will be opening up my inbox for a free flow of conversation. If you’re committed to continuing to explore to create. Adventure to make an impact. Storytell. Connect to, with, and through this community. Not for the sake of the pay or the fear of letting something go. But, truly, deeply, tell me, what is it that your heart longs for?
No matter how the next days and months unfold, I can say with confidence that this has been a creation with purpose built on passion, community, and connection. And if it fizzles and dissolves digitally, we have made something beautiful that will live on forever – far past the likes, the follows, the shares or the comments received on or offline.
Through Stranded, I hope that we can all in some way say that we have discovered bits of ourselves that we may not have known existed.
And after all, isn’t that the creation and discovery the reason we’re all here?
With gratitude, inspiration + love.
xx,
Euni
