A slower kind of ambition.
Sam Rivera on taking the scenic route, choosing what matters, and redefining what it means to get somewhere.
The conversation
Sam Rivera on taking the scenic route, choosing what matters, and redefining what it means to get somewhere.
Some of the most useful conversations leave you with something small: a question, a practice, or a new way of seeing the familiar. This episode is an invitation to slow down and make a little space for that.
A few things to take with you
- Choosing a direction.
- A different measure of progress.
- Taking the scenic route.
Try this after listening
Take ten minutes away from your usual routine. Notice one thing you would normally pass by, and write a sentence about it.
Transcript
Alex: Hey, I’m Alex. Welcome to Iris. Here’s a question I’ve been sitting with lately. What does getting somewhere actually mean? It’s easy to keep moving, to fill the calendar, to say yes to the next thing. It’s a little harder to stop and ask whether you’re heading where you want to go.
Alex: Sam Rivera is a photographer, and our conversation started with the scenic route. Not just on a map. In work, too. In the choices you make about your time. Sam made me think about how slowing down can be a way of caring more about something, rather than giving up on it.
Alex: Maybe there’s one thing this week you could do at your own pace. A walk, a project, a conversation. Something you don’t need to rush through just to get to the next thing. There’s no prize for arriving before you’ve had a chance to look around. Thanks for listening. We’ll pick this up again soon.
Mentioned in this episode
Voices in this episode.
Sam Rivera
Photographer & wanderer
Sam is a photographer drawn to slow journeys and the details between destinations. His work follows the relationship between ambition, attention, and choosing a life that feels like your own.
Alex Morgan
Writer, maker & host of Iris
Alex is a writer and maker with a soft spot for questions that take the scenic route. Iris grew out of a wish to spend more time listening to people who see the familiar a little differently.
