I’ve been running around. Like a hairy goat. Like a headless
chook. From one place to another, inside airports and train stations, and one
thing is certain. Wherever I go, there I am. It’s been an exciting half a dozen
weeks tripping on a holiday through Europe. Perhaps I thought the change in
scenery would cause some kind of commensurate shifts in my viewpoint of life,
or my personality, but I seem to have reached home in the same shoes I left
with.
Looking over my shoulder, the whole experience is already
rapidly receding into memories. Luckily I took a few snapshots or I may not
believe it had happened at all. I’ve been on trips before, and have to confess
that apart from the slideshow performed for a few very lucky friends, those
photos haven’t seen the light of day since. Life seems to happen in the now,
with little time to think back or forwards.
That gets me thinking...that if I haven’t changed, and the
memories move so quickly into distant past, why do I go to all the trouble of
packing hefty cases and lugging them around the world? (If my husband is
reading this, now is the part where he’ll be rubbing his hands hopefully,
thinking that my wandering days are done)..but no. Quintessentially quite the opposite! That’s like
saying I’ll give up eating jellybeans.
The singular, wonderful, awe-inspiring experiences I have,
moment by moment, in places I’ve never seen before, with people I’ve never met
before.. are worth the miles. Perhaps some do change me a little, but on the
whole it’s the joy they bring in that moment that adds to my enjoyment of life.
The shiver at the giddy views from a mountain, the zing of
an exotic recipe, the giggle at a silly busker, the understanding as another
piece of history’s puzzle makes sense, the surprise in the discovery of a
foreign custom, the pleasure of an unexpected kindness..even the fear of losing
my way, and the frustration of a rip-off. Everything adds up. I probably don’t
even remember them all, but they are special moments.
I have special times at home too of course, but there’s
still a lot out there for me to discover. My suitcase is stowed in the closet
for now, but I think it knows it won’t have to languish in the dark for long...
Questions?...always.
Life is a quest.
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| Quality produce ~ Stresa Italy |
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