In the late 90s, humorist Erma Bombeck wrote a short poem entitled “If I Had My Life to Live Over.” She fills the poem with tender and funny lines like, “I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained or the sofa faded” or “I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.” Toward the ends, she wraps up with this line:
“Mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute,
look at it and really see it, live it—and never give it back.”
Embrace travel!
Bombeck was talking about simple everyday moments of course. More than anything else, though, touring and traveling are the experiences that throw open the door to a mesmerizing world of discovery for me. The further I’ve ventured outside the small town where I grew up, the more I realize
There’s something…
surprising about biting into a rambutan and discovering, “Hey, I really like this!”
humbling about working a handloom in the company of village women and having them laugh with you at your fumbling.
fascinating about learning the complexities of weaving fine silk.
exhilarating about exploring rainforests and stretches of beach and ocean sand.
Travel invites discovery.
Travel turns your world upside down, then helps you realize that view is really right side up.
Travel gives you the opportunity to see the supposedly same thing in a fresh, new way.
Whatever your goals are for 2016, put travel on the top of your to-do list and explore, encounter, and embrace the rich beauty and complexity of the big, wide world out there.
