Summer Wanderlust
“A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.” – Lao Tzu
“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” – Maya Angelou
Two great quotes from two great teachers. I happened upon them online as I was thinking about what subject to write about today. The best place for me to start any creative writing venture, where the choice of content is solely up to me, is to start from where I am. Today, I am in the mindset of my upcoming travels now that the summer season is upon us. Oh how juicy it is!
I think Lao Tzu was definitely onto something when he coined the above quote. If I am in the present moment and not the upcoming moment, no matter how highly anticipated it might be, I am free. Isn’t freedom a big part of why we feel the need to escape our daily routines when summer hits, and go find ourselves anew, preferably in completely different environments than our own? To really free your mind when embarking on a summer get away, you must detach from any set expectations of what your adventure will turn out to be. I’ve had so many wonderful experiences traveling far and wide when I let go of my expectations of how the trip would turn out. Surrender to the path ahead of you, make basic plans: book travel tickets and accommodations (or not) and then let go and enjoy the journey.
Maya Angelou’s words gives us pause and remind us of another great result from summer’s wanderlust: by meeting people from foreign lands on their soil, we very often get a clearer sense of who we ultimately are, with all of our basic needs & our complexities, and how closely knit our human race actually is. I am not that different from a woman in Beijing or Cusco. How might this realization broaden my thinking into a more expansive and inclusive perspective of the world and all of its inhabitants.
As for my summer wanderlust plans, Canada is calling, where I’ll be happily ensconced with my guy. Juicy indeed.