Crowther Collective in 2012: “Thank You”

21 December 2012

12 months have already passed since the clock ticked over to 2012 or, as some would say the year that the world would end. Ever since January, for me anyway time has been going faster and faster and each day I am on the road the days feel as if they are getting shorter. In reality it isn’t and it has been going at the same pace the entire time, but in my case it has had the illusion of pace because this year has been a year of achievement, happiness, enjoyment and appreciation.

I started this year with an idea that I would start a travel website, but it wasn’t going to be just any old travel blog. I mean you see plenty of those around, but rather I wanted to make and turn this simple idea into something greater than myself and my way of doing this was morphing travel, environmentalism and positive social change and awareness into one interconnected activity. This was what I wanted to spread, my vision of a world through my eyes that was full of prosperity, beauty, hope, happiness, diversity and strength. At the time of the conception of this idea I really had no idea that I would be able to pull it off and was curious myself to see if I could really do this and more importantly if the general public would be interested. Backing my ability and my vision I gave it a crack.

Starting to plan my trip around Asia for the next 2 years was the next time-consuming part; it chewed up my time and thoughts, not with anxiety or frustration, but with excitement and optimism. I started on the task of writing the initial content of the website and while I had university assignments stacked up to the roof of my room I managed to pull this off and I still do this day have no idea how. During this period of time between preparing the website and trip I was introduced to many inspiring people in a vast amount of industries and professions, they all gave me ideas. These people ranged from environmental and social activists, multi-millionaires, best selling authors, government officials and university professors. Each of them added a little bit of spice to the mix and proved to me that anything was possible.

This brings me to today, this moment in time. I have been travelling for soon to be 9 months, gone through 7 countries so far, travelled over 15 thousand kilometres by road and visited over 80 cities, towns and villages. During this time I have constantly written and raised awareness of our natural environment and social issues through various forms of media from writing to pictures. It somehow spread. Since the day I left my website has received over 25 thousand hits, each and everyday my audience is growing worldwide. It has even got to the point where I have received sizeable donations of some readers. And I am now also a contributing writer to Earth Hour/WWF’s global blog. To this day it still amazes me, even more so than in the past. During the conception of my website idea I couldn’t fathom the response I have received and I would like to say I am greatly humbled and honoured by it.

There have been things that I have seen on this trip that dreams are made of, some of the people I have met have driven me to pursue my cause at reckless abandon and the experiences I have individually had and shared have made my body and mind thrive into a constant positive state. I still remember telling people before I left that the reason that I chose to do this was not just to experience and see the world, but also to show the world that we live on this beautiful planet that is radiating with infinite beauty.

This infinite beauty I speak of is a collective source derived from nature, culture, history and our fellow human beings. This place we call home, to me is worth protecting. I have dealt with political boundaries since the day I stepped out of Australia, but the earth is something that we all hold in common, human and non-human and no political boundary can separate us from that. I guess what I really want to get to is for me to say “thank you” to everyone that has supported me or read anything I have written over the past year and enjoyed it. I hope that my words and photos have inspired positive change in your life because we all have the capacity to generate good, share ideas and look at the world through a protective and positive gaze. Everyday I see someone “like” my photos, email me or respond to something I have written it really fills me up with hope that this world is full of people that want to take a stand and protect what we have left. Some said that 2012 would be the end of the world. Not in my eyes. It is the beginning of something great, a period of conscious, aware and responsible global citizens.

Thank you again everyone for a year to remember. In 2013 I will be away for another entire year and will be venturing through another 15+ countries. I look forward to sharing every moment with you.

Yours Sincerely,

Ashley Crowther

 

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