Ready, set...
It's funny how you can be dreaming of doing something your entire life and not even know it until an opportunity to follow it comes barreling into you, covered in dust and tasting of adventure. I used to think of exploration as a luxury, not for lack of exposure to the world but rather due to the belief that I didn't have access to it. Travel, like so many other cravings, I could pursue after climbing the ladder of social expectations. The shoulds are traps that can catch you even when you're looking for them. Don't be fooled by the comfort of the swaddle. But now my toes are itching, the sand has all but drained out in anticipation; breadcrumbs for my ghosts to follow. And maybe it shouldn't take a breakdown, a collapsing inward like the universe folding in on itself, but in that complete letting go with both hands of the life I had (carefully organized and planned) I struck out of my inner turmoil and into the eye of my own storm. My mind became a clearing, that place in the woods where the sun peeks in and the quietly floating dust mites are illuminated like bits of magic. While I could never be a blank slate, my pieces were at rest. Anticipating without knowing it; needing a direction. It came right when I wasn't looking, which is exactly when what you've been looking for comes looking for you and usually in the most unexpected of ways. Maybe I've always been a Wanderer, but it took the inspiration of a fellow nomad to galvanize my drive. And now my body is a bridge, my nerves strung tightly like the suspension cables of gold that I'm about to leave behind me; a beacon to bring me home when my meandering eyes seek for the familiar. My excitement is like a live wire sending signals to my brain for switching channels. Tsk tsk tsk... to do lists and countdowns and the waiting... 10 days
