 |
The coast of Sicily |
“Once
you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and
over again in the quietest chambers. The mind can never break off
from the journey.” – Pat Conroy
“Our
battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer
ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.” – Jack
Kerouac
The experiences of life away from the
familiar that comes from distant travel are not for everyone, but for
me, the exciting effects of combining known elements with unknown
ones is essential. I need to travel, to experience the freedom of
motion that carries the possibility of expanded consciousness.
Written upon the tablet of my memory are indelible streams of life
that have come from living like the wind carving through space and
time without inhibition, even circling the globe. I feel the fire of this passion that
burned so bright and joyously unencumbered for the entire year of
2008, and is still alive with burning embers of that lovely flame—ready
to leap into intensity again at the slightest opportunity.
 |
Masai youth, herding cattle . . . Tanzania |
 |
Camel at the Great Pyramids, Egypt |
The feeling to explore new life is
coming these days like an imperative. The flames that died down now
long to spring forth once again. It almost hurts me to be settled. The strange apparition of a whirling dervish must
challenge most peoples consciousness. Who could possibly care to live
without being the occupant of a home? For most, home is where the
heart is, but I also observe it is where stuff accumulates and that
stuff requires guardianship. I don't care to be watching over stuff.
To do so requires maintenance and expenditure. Let loose I say.
Material possessions do not hold
more for me than a soft breeze and warm sunlight upon my skin, a bird song in my ears, the sight of new terrain to explore, and
the incredible luxury of time, with the only requirement being that of
awe and wonder.
 |
At Ipsos, on the island of Corfu, Greece |
|
 |
Halong Bay, Vietnam |
Come, Come, Whoever You Are
Wonderer, worshipper, lover of
leaving.
It doesn't matter.
Ours is not a caravan of
despair.
Come, even if you have broken your vow
a thousand
times
.
Come, yet again, come, come.