Ive come to realize that over the years I have evolved into a different kind of traveller. Initially, it was the excitement of the simple things - getting on a plane, looking out the window as the city and your country gets smaller, watching the clouds and the lightning sometimes by your window. It was about going somewhere, and being able to take a picture standing in front of a famous landmark, showing the world that ME thats right ME! I was there! I was standing in front of the Eiffel Tower, I was there in front of the Sears tower.
And then I was lucky enough that I could afford more. I started travelling to places slightly out of the normal path. I returned to some countries numerous times, but each time to try something different, something off the beaten path. In Thailand alone, I travelled beyond the confines of the city. I found sunflower fields in Lopburi, I played with tiger cubs and had them munching me in Kanchanaburi.
Then, I got even luckier, and saved up more, shopped less, and I was lucky enough to travel all around the world and back into time. I touched the pyramids of Giza, I hiked the Great Wall of China, I saw the terracota warriors in Xi'an, and I was transported to a day where they protected the emperor.
It was only in those last two stages that I could really understand, what excitement and joy was at being able to create these new memories, these first time impressions. I wouldnt categorize myself as an emotional girl. Not to the extent of getting mopey or grumpy or angry a lot. But whenever I travel, (and my friends can attest to this) to someplace I had always dreamed about, thought about had a fantasy about, I get so excited at the thought of finally being there, of finally being able to do it that I quiver, I get goosebumps, and ultimately tears come to my eyes.
It is the excitement, the pure pure joy of finally being able to reach and to see and to touch old memories that I had. Catching how surreal the moment is, and appreciating it for truly the moment that it is, the one lapse in time when everything aligned and the memory imprints itself on my soul.
Galloping through the pampas on horseback, with a gaucho sitting behind me.
Twirling in the arms of a young man at a Viennese ball in a grand ballroom...
... and finally, the mother of it all
Catching the Northern Lights. A childhood dream (and I know not only mine) finally come true.
As for what the future may bring... plenty more. I still have a long list of old childhood fantasies to make come true, and new fantasies to create.
But the biggest lesson for me this whole time is that it stops being about that one thing, that one object, hell it even slowly stops being about doing that one experience and checking it off the list. Its about breathing it in, enjoying it, living it, feeling it. Its about being in that one moment and truly seeing the beauty of it all.
And now, I can finally see it and appreciate it in my everyday surroundings too. The cycling route to work, the sounds of music in the park, watching a child play with a puppy, walking on a frozen canal in the middle of the city.
Everytime and everyday, the world truly is, a magical place, and I am truly madly in love
And then I was lucky enough that I could afford more. I started travelling to places slightly out of the normal path. I returned to some countries numerous times, but each time to try something different, something off the beaten path. In Thailand alone, I travelled beyond the confines of the city. I found sunflower fields in Lopburi, I played with tiger cubs and had them munching me in Kanchanaburi.
Then, I got even luckier, and saved up more, shopped less, and I was lucky enough to travel all around the world and back into time. I touched the pyramids of Giza, I hiked the Great Wall of China, I saw the terracota warriors in Xi'an, and I was transported to a day where they protected the emperor.
It was only in those last two stages that I could really understand, what excitement and joy was at being able to create these new memories, these first time impressions. I wouldnt categorize myself as an emotional girl. Not to the extent of getting mopey or grumpy or angry a lot. But whenever I travel, (and my friends can attest to this) to someplace I had always dreamed about, thought about had a fantasy about, I get so excited at the thought of finally being there, of finally being able to do it that I quiver, I get goosebumps, and ultimately tears come to my eyes.
It is the excitement, the pure pure joy of finally being able to reach and to see and to touch old memories that I had. Catching how surreal the moment is, and appreciating it for truly the moment that it is, the one lapse in time when everything aligned and the memory imprints itself on my soul.
Galloping through the pampas on horseback, with a gaucho sitting behind me.
Twirling in the arms of a young man at a Viennese ball in a grand ballroom...
... and finally, the mother of it all
Catching the Northern Lights. A childhood dream (and I know not only mine) finally come true.
As for what the future may bring... plenty more. I still have a long list of old childhood fantasies to make come true, and new fantasies to create.
But the biggest lesson for me this whole time is that it stops being about that one thing, that one object, hell it even slowly stops being about doing that one experience and checking it off the list. Its about breathing it in, enjoying it, living it, feeling it. Its about being in that one moment and truly seeing the beauty of it all.
And now, I can finally see it and appreciate it in my everyday surroundings too. The cycling route to work, the sounds of music in the park, watching a child play with a puppy, walking on a frozen canal in the middle of the city.
Everytime and everyday, the world truly is, a magical place, and I am truly madly in love
tis' beautiful, love.
ReplyDelete