I used to complain to my parents that I hate travel. Which is kind of true. Usually we plan away an entire break, so I end up feeling like I need a vacation after my vacation. But there is something compelling about driving down new highways, seeing new horizons. Traveling with a sense of purpose but also having enough time to enjoy the scenery along the way. After a few months of not going anywhere, I hear the siren song of the road. As Toad of Toad Hall put it, "There's real life for you...The open road, the dusty highway, the heath, the common, the hedgerows, the rolling downs! Camps, villages, towns, cities! Here today, up and off tomorrow! Travel, change, interest, excitement! The whole world before you, and a horizon that's always changing!" Throwing out routine for new experiences and the unexpected. That is why I love to travel.
Spring takes me that way as well. The earth stirring and starting something new. Waking up to new possibilities. Like Mole, I feel the "spirit of divine discontent and longing." And I'm not alone. Wedding season starts in spring. Spring break appears to exist almost wholly for youth to travel. The school year is ending and graduates are leaving to start new lives elsewhere.
Graduation is another new horizon. A new journey beginning. New job, new place to live. Growing up I hated change, but now I see new beginnings as a chance to clean house and start over with something brighter and better. Without new experiences, how can we continue to learn? And if we do not learn, how can we hope to understand and faithfully interact with the world around us? If we have the opportunity to go to Timbuktu, should we not take it?
There is a lot of wisdom to be found in lectures of stability and responsibility. But allowing fear of debt, insecurity, and failure to rob you of where you truly want to go is more foolish than wise. Who are you helping by letting life pass you by?
Where shall we go? "To wherever the wind may take us."
Spring takes me that way as well. The earth stirring and starting something new. Waking up to new possibilities. Like Mole, I feel the "spirit of divine discontent and longing." And I'm not alone. Wedding season starts in spring. Spring break appears to exist almost wholly for youth to travel. The school year is ending and graduates are leaving to start new lives elsewhere.
Graduation is another new horizon. A new journey beginning. New job, new place to live. Growing up I hated change, but now I see new beginnings as a chance to clean house and start over with something brighter and better. Without new experiences, how can we continue to learn? And if we do not learn, how can we hope to understand and faithfully interact with the world around us? If we have the opportunity to go to Timbuktu, should we not take it?
There is a lot of wisdom to be found in lectures of stability and responsibility. But allowing fear of debt, insecurity, and failure to rob you of where you truly want to go is more foolish than wise. Who are you helping by letting life pass you by?
Where shall we go? "To wherever the wind may take us."
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