hejira? What is it?
He•gi•ra n., pl. -ras
(sometimes l.c.) Hijra
(l.c.) hejira
Any flight or journey to a more desirable or congenial place.
Any flight or journey to a more desirable or congenial place.
[1590–1600; < Medieval Latin < Arabic; see Hijra]
Hejira is both a word and a practice—an inward turning, a movement toward what calls the spirit forward. It speaks to leaving and arriving, to wintered ground and open horizons, to journeys that are not always geographic but are always lived.
I am a retired nurse and have called Juneau, Alaska home for the past eight years. Alaska was a long-held dream—one I carried quietly for much of my life. That I now live here feels less like coincidence and more like blessing. I am grateful that the Great Spirit saw fit for me to spend this season of my life in a place where land, water, and sky speak so clearly.
HejiraPhotos is not a project with a master plan. It has no fixed direction or stated objective. It is simply a place I return to—a kind of campfire—where I share the things that keep me attentive and alive: photography, music, and writing.
These are not polished declarations. They are offerings along the way. I am learning, always learning, through the lens, through listening, through putting words to moments that might otherwise pass unnoticed. Each image, each song, each paragraph marks another step in an ongoing journey.
Hejira is that journey—the choice to keep moving toward what feels truer, quieter, and more my own.