Right now, my office is stacked with boxes of oat milk, cans of beans, a case of mineral water and packages of pasta. A storage crate stands open with odds and ends of hiking clothes and swimsuits piled inside.
There are lists, my friends. Oh there are lists everywhere.
The Wilderness of My Office, right now
Travel takes energy: planning, packing, preparing, arranging for care of pets and plants. As I sit in this big pile of food and clothes and lists, one might ask, “Why travel?”
False Cape State Park, Virginia 2020
“[We] cannot discover new oceans unless [we have] the courage to lose sight of the shore.” – André Gide
Well, OK, we aren’t Lewis & Clark or anything. Staying at State Parks in a camper with its own bathroom (with bidet, I kid you not) takes approximately zero courage. And yet it does take some energy to put the wheels in motion nearly a year ago to make reservations and plans that will get us half way across the country and back.
But could it be argued that we could have an adventure right here at home?
How we absolutely seek new landscapes. Le Que 2013.
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” – Marcel Proust
Proust reminds us that it matters less what we are seeing and more how we are seeing. I could be on the edge of Grand Canyon and if I’m not paying attention, curious, or open to awe, I might as well be on the edge of a Walmart parking lot.
But is Proust exhorting us not to travel? Because it sounds like Seth Godin is.
Laundry like prayer flags. Dancing Water 2021.
“Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you should set up a life you don't need to escape from.” ― Seth Godin
I get this. I do. I’ve been there. I’ve lived a life in which I dreaded Mondays, couldn’t wait for Fridays and held it together only with the promise of vacation. (In fact, the very word “vacation” implies an evacuation, vacating the premises of our lives.) That time felt like a lot of unlived days, waiting for something.
Yet that isn’t the case for me these days, I love my work and my home and my community. I love being home. But something shifts for me when I get into new and unfamiliar territory. I think I can love my life and still want to travel.
Shenandoah National Park. October 2020.
“Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain.”― Jack Kerouac
Right on, Jack. At the end of every year, when our family shares our favorite memories, nearly always they came from the adventure of travel. Memories associated with novelty and emotion, two things that are in abundance while traveling, are sharper than those of things we do more regularly (no matter how much we love them).
It feels important to remember that travel is not just a way to relax but also a way to shake us up a little.
Me, hunting invasive plants. Porcupine Mountain Wilderness. 2022.
“We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.” – Anonymous
Odd as it sounds, we can somehow get caught up in the doings of our days and forget that we are here to live. As Maurice Sendak said in one of his last interviews, “Live your life. Live your life. Live your life.” Travel feels alive. Seeing and experiencing new things has a freshness – like breathing pure oxygen. Of course, not every moment of travel feels like this. There is plenty of slog in traveling (see aforementioned piles and whatnot), but even the slog in a different place feels, well, less sloggy.
One of my favorite reasons to travel, though, doesn’t even happen when we travel. It’s when we come home.
Phoenix. Awaiting us patiently. 2022.
“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” – Terry Pratchett
The gifts of travel flow beyond the edges of the trip itself. I see my everyday life through a different lens after being away. I remember what I love about it. Travel helps me appreciate home.
Whether or not you wander away from home this summer, remember that travel really is a voyage of mind and heart as much as body. Follow the wisdom of Proust or Pratchett, Jack or Seth, but be willing to be changed by whatever you do.
PLEASE NOTE: I will be traveling for the month of July. I will be back writing and offering classes in August!