I wonder if all travelers are seekers of innocence; longing constantly to be reborn, to be humbled, to see new things from fresh, naïve eyes. This is why I travel. When sedentary I naturally live safely. I stay close to those I love, and form a nest of my romantic world. This is warming, but if let alone too long it is a catalyst for twisting my mind into stark, fiercely set conclusions. And unfortunately, all fiercely set conclusions are safe yet terribly boring and ignorant and judgmental.
So when I find my mind scared and clinging to blacks and whites and ignoring all beautiful shades of gray, I set out to be humbled. I explore and ask new places and people to please shatter my conclusions. I feel this makes me strong enough once more to live openly. It is so easy, yet so awful, to stop believing. Especially to stop believing in the value of the world and ALL of its people.*
Time to be humbled and put in my place by the world and all its colors. Nature and strangers, children and pastures, come knock down the white picket fences that I’ve recently built in my mind!
* “In uncertainty I am certain that underneath their topmost layers of frailty men want to be good and want to be loved. Indeed, most of their vices are attempted shortcuts to love.” -Steinbeck
* “The most frequent source of anger is impotence. Hostility is jealousy. Destructiveness is a sign of impotence.” -Anais Nin
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