the open road
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“We travel, initially, to lose ourselves; and we travel, next to find ourselves. We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate. We travel to bring what little we can, in our ignorance and knowledge, to those parts of the globe whose riches are differently dispersed. And we travel, in essence, to become young fools again- to slow time down and get taken in, and fall in love once more.”
In my early twenties I drove cross country with a friend and someone she knew whom I had never met. This person I never met had just gotten a new car and wanted to take it across the country. Was I up for the adventure? You bet! Did I mind that I didn't know the girl who owned the car, not one bit.
We had one plan in mind, make it to California where Sara's mom lived. What happened in between NJ and CA was left to unfold as we went along. We had a few places we could crash for the night but besides that the road was our opportunity to explore. It was on this trip that my love affair with the open road began. I was enamored with the endless possibility that we could go anywhere.
With open roads before us there was no one except ourselves telling us to go left, right, no...LEFT!!! I saw things I never saw before, like the wide open sky, billions of stars, and the sun setting in the grand canyon. Nothing had to be perfect, we made it up as we went along.
As I have gotten older and my days feel full with errands and a long list of things to do adventure has fallen to the bottom of the list. I forget sometimes that it doesn't have to be a big trip across the country. Adventure is always waiting for me right around the corner. It is a block I have never traveled down, a trail I didn't know existed, taking a different way home and seeing things I never knew where there. Yes, there is always something new to see and experience, I just have to be open to it.
And so I am opening my eyes a little bit more. Seeking out the unexpected. Looking around the corner and taking the long way home. I am going on little adventures and stepping outside of my comfort zone. I don't know what will unfold, but that is all part of the adventure.
What adventure have you taken recently? Where have you gone near or far that has expanded you in some way? Together lets make a pact to adventure more often.
