To Travel- An Escape, Maybe. A Lesson, Definitely.

Two books that are permanent fixtures on my coffee table are Art & Architecture Tuscany, and Unforgettable Things to do Before You Die. They are not there for decoration. Anyone who knows me well, knows that I will someday go to Tuscany to visit the village of Cortona. I will also visit the Thermal Spas in Iceland and cycle through Vietnam. I will not let these and the other visions that fill my head be idle dreams. On my own, or with company, I am going.

Since I was very small, I loved the thrill of travelling. From the packing to go, through to the unpacking when I got home, it was always a great adventure for me. Growing up, the traveling usually involved camping at a variety of campgrounds in Ontario, first in a tent, then graduating to the more luxurious tent trailer. The memories of those trips are so clear in my mind. They may not be exotic, but it doesn't matter. I was learning, and I was living the moments of my life. As my current favourite motivational speaker says "Create new stories", and that's what I was doing, even as a child. I remember falling out of the wing of the tent trailer wrapped up and upside down in my sleeping bag; almost catching my first rainbow trout as my dad leaned over to net it, and it jumped off the hook; canoeing on Bass Lake; jumping from the dock water tower for the first time; playing Bloody Murder amongst the rocks and bushes of almost every campground we visited; hiding the fact that I had a secret crush on the uniformed guard at the Fortress of Louisburg; huddling in the family station wagon to wait out the night long thunderstorm as we watched our tent bending, trying to fight off the wind and the rain.

Even though there is such a feeling of comfort in those simple memories, those are stories from the past. Now, I want to continue to create new stories. I want to share my love of learning about new places and new people. With our world becoming smaller with each passing year, I want to be part of that global community. I want to make my world bigger. I don't want to lose out on the momentum of learning about my neighbours across the street, and my neighbours across the Atlantic. Someone once said to me "Joanne, don't be so scared. Don't worry what people are thinking. People are people no matter where you are. People want to learn about you as much as you want to learn about them." Another lesson, definitely.

To be judged for wanting to make your world grow, and for wanting to be a student of the world, can make you feel suffocated by the claustrophobia of those small box judgments and rules. To rise above those opinions and to live by your values can suddenly make the walls of that small box collapse. My dreams of travel- down the highway on my new bike, on a train through the mountains, on a plane to the Far East, or in my car to the spa- make life seem lighter, make life the adventure that it should be. An escape, maybe. But, also another lesson.