“Some people feel more alive when they travel and visit unfamiliar places or foreign countries because at those times sense perception–experiencing–takes up more of their consciousness than thinking. They become more present.” Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth
“I hate travelling,” the woman in the airport security line said to me.
“I love travelling!” I replied brightly.
She frowned when she didn’t get any traction from me. I am no fun anymore for complainers. Especially in airports, where all great adventures start. I don’t even mind taking off my shoes and my belt and waiting in security lines if it means I get to fly somewhere. (It’s not the flying itself I love, which actually makes me sick. In this case it’s about the destination, not the journey–spirituality only goes so far when motion sickness prevails.)
I am writing this on a plane, in fact, on my way to my 30th high school reunion on the other side of the country. My trip from Virginia to Washington State is a little less exotic than some others I’ve made, but I am just as giddy. Airports make me feel alive. They are filled with emotion and stories and drama and secrets and, if a plane is delayed, forced stillness. Airports are a goldmine for an observer.
I caught the travel bug when I was a high school exchange student in Turkey, an experience that imprinted on me an unquenchable thirst for exploring the world. I once thought I would spend my life as a nomad, with no permanent home base to tie me down. The more exotic, the better. (To read my article recounting a visit to an Algerian bath house, click here.)
My mother was thrilled when I finally married in a white (OK, ivory) dress and bought a house in the suburbs (not in that order). She told a friend she had once envisioned me exchanging vows in a desert and riding away on a camel.
I married a man who shared my passion for travel, and we’ve passed it on to our kids. During our three-year posting in Germany, we kept a breathless pace on the travel front. As soon as we returned from one trip, I immediately started planning the next, barely able to savor the previous adventure before crowding the memories out with dreams of the next destination.
It started to get out of hand. The sense of adventure that came along with the travel was obscuring my capacity to enjoy my normal, everyday life. It was verging on a drug-like addiction. When our overseas stint came to an end, I felt empty and depressed. Our days of easy access to places that took us out of ourselves, out of our “real” lives, were over.
I never thought I’d be able to feel the same degree of aliveness–that deep sense of presence and wonder–at home. I was wrong. It’s what made me smile in the airport today when the recorded voice came over the intercom: “Caution: The moving walkway is ending.”
Brian says
Tell everyone I said “hello!”. We can’t make this trip. I’ll have to catch you out east on our next NYC run.
Martha says
Will do Brian. And yes, we’d love to see you if you can make it down to D.C.! Great to reconnect here in the meantime.
Barbara says
I guess the moving walkways will never end even though the travelling is ‘only’ on the continent you live. I started travelling in Europe after I stopped my volunteer work exploring the US once/twice a year with lots of teenage kids. So I found out that the Alpes ( all my American friends told me to go and see and I gave them just a nice smile…….) are really a wonder and wonderful. I love hiking hupps?? I never did and I do like travelling by car , not on the highways here but cross country, slowly, stopp overs where ever you find a pretty spot. Come to a full stop and breathe and just enjoy smelling the herbal air. I definetely will not give up travelling to the States once in a while because I do miss my American friends very very much. So the walkways won’t end !
Thank’s my dearest Martha for sharing all your thoughts!!! I am sitting at my computer curiously waiting for the email to arrive ‘news’ from you!!! :-)
Mi Young says
I experience similar excitement and anticipation with moving. I know I need to get my head examined. Much of the logistics of moving is a total pain, no other words for it and no other way around it. But once it’s done and settled in a new place, I am filled with positive energy anticipating new friends that I would make, new places to visit, new restaurants and stores to explore and if it’s a foreign country, well, the list is endless… new language to learn, new culture and history to study, etc. We have moved 17 times in our 33 yeas of marriage; 4 trans-Pacific moves to Asia & Hawaii and 3 trans-Atlantic moves to Europe, 10 all across US. And I don’t think our days of moving is over, yet.
Martha says
So true, Mi Young. Approaching the world with wonder, as you have done over the course of all of your moves, is at the heart of true contentment, I think. (But please don’t start planning your next move yet!)
monica says
martha, what do you do when you miss all the people you met on your travel? there is not enough time to keep in touch with all of them. :) can’t wait for see your reunion photos.xxoo
Martha says
Monica — I agree! There is never enough time to stay in touch with everyone. I figure my real friends will always be my real friends even if they don’t hear from me for awhile. And then there is always Facebook, of course (not my favorite, but it does serve a useful purpose for people who move a lot or meet friends when they travel).