Why Now: A Field Guide to Starting

Written By Caity Garvey

AAfter more than a decade of circling the idea—yes, let’s be honest, avoiding it—I’ve finally done the thing I’ve been threatening to do for years: I started a blog. Welcome to Field Guide to Living. A space for the journey, the detours, and the small, quietly life-altering moments in between.

So, why now?

Bukowski said it best:
if you have to wait for it to roar out of you, then wait patiently. if it never does, do something else.

Well, I’ve waited. And waited. I let fear, perfectionism, and a thousand excuses hold the pen. But lately the question buzzing in my brain has been louder than the excuses: Am I even living fully—or just going through the motions?

The truth hit hardest when a friend, in a moment of brutal grace, said:

“I just want you to be happy. It’s been years since I’ve seen you really happy.”

Years. The word landed in my chest like a stone. I wanted to argue, but maybe she was right. I’m not unhappy… but I’ve been paused. Waiting for the perfect moment. The right conditions. A cosmic green light.

But what if this is the sign?

So here I am—starting messy, imperfect, alive. Writing not because I have it figured out, but because I’m tired of waiting for certainty before I try. This blog is a living experiment: a place to track the doing instead of the overthinking. Essays and stumbles. Questions and half-answers. Travel not just as destinations, but as a mindset—a way of approaching life with movement, curiosity, and appreciation for the small stuff: good coffee, honest conversation, the first brave step.

And yes, the big adventures too. But mostly what those adventures—big or small—teach me about myself and this messy, miraculous human existence. Even if I fail, because at least failure means I showed up.

So this is the beginning of my Field Guide. For me, and maybe for you—for anyone waiting for permission. Consider this it.

Like my dad says, every time he sighs and stands up to do something that just needs doing:

Here we go.

Thanks for being here.
—Caity

Caity Garvey